NEW YORK, NY (June 11 2026) — Today, Council Member Jennifer Gutiérrez, joined by Council Members Tiffany Cabán, Shahana Hanif, Crystal Hudson, Chi Ossé, and Sandy Nurse, and introduced legislation to establish multiple municipal grocery stores across New York City — codifying the program into the City’s Administrative Code and ensuring it endures as a lasting pillar of city infrastructure for generations to come.

The bill comes as the Mamdani Administration has also plans for a municipal grocery initiative, and the Council Members are eager to work hand-in-hand with City Hall to get this done right. Putting the program into law and not just policy will ensure it cannot be unwound by future administrations and that robust standards around affordability, labor, and equitable access are enforceable and durable.

“New Yorkers have been waiting too long for real relief at the grocery store,” said Council Member Gutiérrez. “This isn’t a pilot program or a press release but rather about building something permanent. We’re excited to work with the administration to make municipal groceries a reality. Municipal groceries, like public libraries and public parks before them, should be a guaranteed feature of city life, not subject to the winds of political change.”

“New Yorkers are getting squeezed by rising costs on housing to childcare to groceries. They’re spending more and more on groceries even as wages stay stagnant,” said Council Member Tiffany Cabán. “I’m looking forward to working with the Mayor and his team to build out a network of municipal grocery stores that deliver quality food to New Yorkers without breaking the bank.”

“New Yorkers are struggling to afford to stay in our neighborhoods, and rising grocery costs are only adding to the pressure,” said Council Member Shahana Hanif. “Municipal grocery stores are an opportunity to treat food access as essential public infrastructure, and New Yorkers deserve a program that is protected and enshrined into law. I’m proud to support this major step in Mayor Mamdani’s affordability agenda, co-sponsor this legislation, and partner with the administration to build a program that delivers dignity, affordability, and real relief for New Yorkers.”

“Too many working-class New Yorkers still live in neighborhoods where fresh, nutritious food is difficult to access. Municipal grocery stores are about treating food access as essential infrastructure and making sure every family, in every borough, has reliable access to healthy and affordable options close to home,” said Council Member Crystal Hudson. “As the Mamdani Administration advances its own municipal grocery initiative, we are eager to work in partnership with the administration to build a program that is rooted in the needs of underserved communities.”

“Food should not be a luxury. It is the bare minimum of what a functioning government should make accessible to everyone, and communities across this city have gone too long without reliable access to it,” said Council Member Chi Ossé. “Progressive governance means being ambitious enough to try things that haven’t been tried before. Food deserts belong in the history books, instead of being the lived experience for working-class families. The City Council needs to work alongside the Mayor to codify this into law and ensure we are wielding every lever of local government to improve food accessibility and affordability for our neighbors.”

“Across the country, people are spending more at the grocery store but getting less,” said Council Member Sandy Nurse. “With the Federal government gutting SNAP benefits and food prices rising by 3% last year, New York City must do more to ensure people don’t go hungry. I’m proud to co-sponsor Council Member Gutierrez’s bill to create a network of public grocery stores.”

The legislation is currently broad with the hope that ongoing conversations and hearings will narrow in on more specific. The legislation requires municipal grocery stores in every borough, with a priority on underserved communities, living wages and union-comparable compensation for all workers, and a commitment to affordable, nutritious food.