Will you need ID for NYC’s grocery stores? Mamdani says no
Mayor Zohran Mamdani received backlash from Republicans this week after claims circulated that an ID would be needed for city-owned grocery stores.
The mayor’s office is pushing back against claims — including from President Donald Trump — that New Yorkers will need ID to shopt at the new city-run grocery stores.
In a press conference last week, Jeanny Pak, interim president of the New York City Economic Development Corporation, said officials were looking into how to ensure New Yorkers were , “whether it be a sort of a library card-esque [system].” The clip of Pak went viral as Republicans across the country used the statement as a reason why ID’s should be necessary for voting.
“Zohran Mamdani wants you to show an ID to shop at his city’s grocery store,” Rep. Nancy Mace tweeted out. “But GOD FORBID we require proof of ID to vote.”
When Trump was asked about the claim, he told reporters that he “wished they’d have an ID to access the voting booth.”
Joe Calvello, Mamdani’s press secretary, wrote on X: “to be absolutely clear: NYC Grocery stores will be open to everyone. There will be no system to verify identity, residency or income, and no one will be asked to show ID to shop.”
“This is the dumbest and fakest online news cycle i have seen.”
Mamdani also spoke out against the claim. In an interview on the Joy Reid show, he said “you do not need an ID to shop at” the grocery stores, “no matter what you’ve just heard.”
“We’re going to deliver a city-run grocery store in each borough, five in total, that will have the staples of a shopping experience and an essential basket of goods discounted by 30% compared to typical retail prices.”
Dora Pekec, the senior spokesperson for the mayor, wrote on X that “the only card we’ll have is a voluntary savings card like they have at any typical supermarket.”
The mayor’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment by USA TODAY.
City-owned grocery store plan by Mamdani
Before being elected, Mamdani proposed an initiative that would open multiple grocers across the city in an effort to combat rising food prices.
In May, the mayor announced where it will have its Bronx location: The Peninsula in Hunts Point. The 15,000-square-foot store is expected to be the first one to open in late 2027.
A month earlier, in April, it was revealed that the city grocery store’s Manhattan location would be La Marqueta in East Harlem. The 9,000-square-foot location is expected to open sometime in 2029, documents say.
The city has not yet identfied sites for grocery stores in Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island.