Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s first-unveiled city-owned grocery store will cost $30 million to build from the ground up at East Harlem’s longstanding La Marqueta, officials confirmed.
The La Marqueta site – announced by Mamdani during a Sunday celebration of his first 100 days in office – may be the first site selected for the mayor’s promised five city-owned grocery stores, but other locations will be picked and opened sooner, City Hall officials told The Post on Monday.
Mamdani’s administration is currently scouring the city for locations that don’t require a full ground-up build, officials said. The city has budgeted an initial $70 million to fund the city-owned stores.
The selection of La Marqueta, however, carries symbolic weight that Mamdani was keen to point out – his idol, former Mayor Fiorella La Guardia, had established the marketplace as a location during the 1930s where working people could save money on fruits and vegetables.
“We will continue his legacy,” Mamdani said.
“We are building a brand-new store on city-owned land currently sitting empty in East Harlem, a neighborhood where nearly 40% of households received public assistance or SNAP in the past year.”
La Marqueta is one of six public markets in New York City, including Essex Market and the Jamaica Farmers Market.
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