Sarah Kang manages a CTown Supermarkets location in East Harlem. She's been watching New York City's new mayor lay out plans to open a government-run grocery store right in her neighborhood — one that will undercut her prices by 30% using taxpayer money. Her reaction, "Of course it will affect this store."

Zohran Mamdani, New York City's self-described Democratic Socialist mayor, announced plans to open five city-owned grocery stores — one in each borough — backed by $70 million in capital funding. The flagship location is slated for the Peninsula development in Hunts Point, Bronx, with a target opening at the end of 2027. A second store, a 9,000-square-foot operation at La Marqueta in East Harlem, is planned for 2029.

The stores will offer roughly 20 pantry staple items at 30% below retail prices. Mamdani's office claims this will save the average household $90 per month, or about $1,000 annually. The stores will not sell cigarettes, alcohol, lottery tickets, or prepared hot foods.

"Every week, New Yorkers walk into a grocery store hoping the prices haven't gone up again," Mamdani said. "A trip to the grocery store shouldn't spell dread for New Yorkers. That's why we are guaranteeing a 30% discount on the most common and most critical groceries for families across the five boroughs — including eggs, milk, chicken and fresh fruits and vegetables."

Here's what Mamdani didn't mention: there are already 45 existing grocery stores within a 35-minute walk of the planned East Harlem location alone. The city isn't filling a need. It's building a government-subsidized competitor to businesses that already exist, already employ people, and pay taxes.

Grocery store owners in the affected areas called the plan a "slap in the face" and pointed out the obvious — the city is "using our tax money to compete with us." The $70 million comes from taxpayers, a portion of whom own the very stores the city is about to undercut.

The math is brutal. The East Harlem location alone is estimated to cost around $30 million. For the full $70 million, the city could purchase over one million Costco memberships — immediately delivering savings to actual families without building a single government-run anything. But that would require believing the private sector can do things better than the government, which is not a belief system Socialists like Mamdani believe in.

This is exactly what happened in Chicago, where the city blew $14 million trying to keep grocery stores open — and they shut down anyway. Government-run retail has a perfect track record: it fails every single time, but it always costs a fortune first.

When the government tells you it can sell groceries better than grocers, check the expiration date on that promise. It's already past due.