Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman has stated his intention to leverage a little-known provision in the New York State Constitution to oppose Mayor Zohran Mamdani's plan for a $70 million city-owned grocery store initiative.
Blakeman plans to utilize the state Constitution's "Gift and Loan Clause," which prohibits municipalities from providing public money or property to private entities. He argues that Mamdani's proposal for city-owned supermarkets, operated by select private companies, violates this clause by using public funds to undercut market prices. This, Blakeman contends, poses a direct threat to existing businesses, potentially leading to closures and job losses.
"This unconstitutional subsidy poses a direct threat to long-standing, tax-paying businesses, risking widespread closures and job losses within the community," Blakeman told The Post. He further asserted that independent supermarkets and bodegas, operating on thin margins, cannot compete with a government-backed entity that faces no overhead costs.
The 150-year-old clause was originally intended to prevent local governments from diverting public funds to favored private entities. Blakeman maintains that Mamdani's plan fails the law's requirement that municipal funds be used for a public purpose or benefit, arguing that publicly run stores would reduce competition, eliminate jobs, and limit consumer choices.
Mayor Mamdani announced in April that one of the planned supermarket locations would be at the city-owned La Marqueta marketplace site in East Harlem. The broader plan aims to open a city-owned supermarket in each of the five boroughs, operated by private partners, by 2029.
Governor Kathy Hochul, who has endorsed Mamdani, has previously expressed a preference for free enterprise, although she has not made public comments on this specific plan since an August 2025 breakfast event. Legal experts suggest that any challenge to Mamdani's initiative would likely end up in court, with the mayor potentially arguing that reducing grocery costs for New Yorkers constitutes a public benefit.
However, James M. McGuire, former state appellate judge and chief counsel to ex-Governor George Pataki, noted that Blakeman might face challenges in court based on existing precedents set by the state Court of Appeals. John Catsimatidis, CEO of Gristedes supermarket, expressed hope that common sense would prevail in shelving Mamdani's plan. He also suggested that if the mayor is focused on lowering grocery costs, he could instead subsidize grocers who pass bulk savings onto customers.
Blakeman characterized Mamdani's plan as an "incredibly expensive socialist pipe dream" that would force local businesses to fund their own competition against a government-subsidized monopoly. He stated, "We are literally forcing neighborhood grocers to fund their own demise. New York runs on fiscal responsibility, free enterprise, and the grit of local entrepreneurs — not bottomless government spending on Soviet-style supermarkets."
The Mayor's Office did not return messages seeking comment.