Mamdani’s socialist, city-run grocery plan faces backlash from Hochul: ‘I favor free enterprise’

Gov. Kathy Hochul rejected socialist New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani’s plan for taxpayer-funded supermarkets, telling a Hamptons crowd, “I favor free enterprise,” according to the New York Post.

Hochul delivered the line Saturday at a business breakfast hosted by billionaire supermarket mogul John Catsimatidis, drawing applause from attendees. 

Catsimatidis, whose Gristedes and D’Agostino chains could be threatened by the proposal, later praised Hochul’s comments, telling the Post, “These types of grocery stores just don’t work.”

The pushback adds to mounting Democratic resistance to Mamdani’s agenda, which critics warn would undercut private grocers and burden taxpayers.

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“Snappy slogan. Doesn’t work, and Mamdani doesn’t care if it does or doesn’t,” Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi said in an email to Fox News Digital. 

“Gov. Cuomo has proposed a plan that was actually thought out to help those with food insecurity, and the answer isn’t Soviet-style breadlines. Kansas City just closed their government-run grocery store (and eliminated their free buses) after wasting millions of taxpayer dollars.”

Cuomo blasted Mamdani in a post on X, writing: “When you have rich parents to fall back on, the results don’t matter. As @ZohranKMamdani has said, c’est la vie. That’s not a governing philosophy. It’s an excuse for failure. It’s time to build. That requires real affordability policies. Let’s do it.”

The Kansas City reference points to the recent closure of the city-owned Sun Fresh Market, which received about $18 million in public funds over a decade but was plagued by theft, empty shelves and heavy losses. Its shutdown was followed by cuts to the city’s free bus program.

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Mamdani, a self-described democratic socialist who represents Queens in the state Assembly, has proposed opening five municipal supermarkets, one in each borough, at a projected cost of $60 million. He argues the stores would fight rising food prices and expand access to affordable groceries. Critics counter the plan could shutter private competitors, limit consumer choice and stick New Yorkers with unmanageable costs.

The mayoral frontrunner is also under fire over housing. Earlier this month, Fox News Digital reported that Mamdani faces an ethics complaint questioning whether he improperly benefited from a rent-stabilized apartment while earning nearly $150,000 as a legislator. 

Cuomo has pounced on the issue, proposing “Zohran’s Law” to block high earners from taking subsidized units. Mamdani has said he moved into the apartment when he made $47,000 and did not know it was rent-stabilized, while his campaign has dismissed the criticism as politically motivated.

Hochul, a centrist Democrat who has not endorsed in the mayoral race, is the latest establishment figure to take aim at Mamdani’s platform. Cuomo, meanwhile, continues to cast himself as a counterweight to what he calls untested progressive ideology.

Mamdani’s campaign did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on Hochul’s remarks. Gov. Hochul did not immediately return Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Fox News’ Alec Schemmel contributed to this report.