Math Is Hard: Mamdani Solves Budget Crisis With Imaginary Money
NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani’s flagship plan for city-run grocery stores faces scrutiny after a financial blunder revealed his projected funding, $140 million, was based on a misreading of private investments as public subsidies.
In the crowded race to become New York City’s next mayor, Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani has staked his campaign on a radical idea: government-owned grocery stores to combat rising food prices and serve the city’s underserved neighborhoods. His pitch is ambitious, promising to redirect funds from what he calls bloated subsidies for “corporate grocery stores” to build a network of public markets that prioritize affordability over profit. But a closer look at Mamdani’s plan reveals a critical flaw: the money he’s counting on to fund this socialist experiment doesn’t exist.
Mamdani’s proposal hinges on reallocating funds from New York City’s Food Retail Expansion to Support Health (FRESH) program, which offers tax breaks and regulatory relief to private grocery stores opening in food deserts, low-income areas with limited access to fresh produce. In a polished campaign video, Mamdani confidently stated, “We will redirect city funds from corporate supermarkets to city-owned grocery stores whose mission is lower prices, not price-gouging.” He estimates his plan for five public grocery stores would cost $60 million, funded by slashing what he claims is $140 million in city subsidies to private grocers.
The problem? Mamdani’s $140 million figure is a mirage. According to the city’s Economic Development Corporation, the FRESH program has cost New York City just $20 million in tax revenue over the past six years—averaging roughly $3.3 million annually. These savings come from modest tax abatements, such as stabilizing building taxes at pre-improvement levels, reducing land taxes, and offering exemptions on certain transfer taxes for grocers setting up in underserved areas. Far from a $140 million handout, the program’s total cost would take 42 years to reach the figure Mamdani cites, as reported by the Washinton Examiner.
So where did Mamdani get his number? It appears to stem from a misinterpretation of a city webpage, which notes that private grocery stores have invested $140 million of their own capital in projects spurred by FRESH incentives. In other words, Mamdani mistook private-sector spending for public expenditure—a fundamental accounting error that undercuts the feasibility of his signature policy.
In interviews, Mamdani has doubled down on his vision, framing it as a corrective to corporate greed. “We’ve detailed how we are going to pay for the entire agenda,” he said, pointing to the FRESH program as a wellspring of misallocated funds. Yet the numbers tell a different story. The city’s tax breaks have saved grocers only a few million dollars annually, a far cry from the tens of millions Mamdani claims he can redirect. Critics argue this misstep suggests either a misunderstanding of municipal finance or an ideological assumption that private investments are fair game for public reallocation.
The Examiner points out that the FRESH program itself, while imperfect, has been a lifeline for communities struggling with food insecurity. By incentivizing grocers to open in neighborhoods deemed food deserts, it has brought fresh produce and jobs to areas long neglected by major chains. Mamdani’s plan to gut its funding could jeopardize these gains, replacing private stores with an untested public model that lacks a clear financial foundation.
The Examiner explains that Mamdani’s supporters see his proposal as a bold challenge to a profit-driven food system, but skeptics warn it’s a gamble built on shaky math. As New Yorkers weigh his candidacy, the question looms: Can a vision so audacious survive a reality check? For now, Mamdani’s dream of socialist grocery stores remains just that, a dream, tethered to a number that doesn’t add up.