New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s plan to open five city-owned grocery stores is being misrepresented online in posts that claim identification will be required to shop there. The claims are juxtaposed against Democratic resistance to nationwide voter ID requirements.
Republican officials and other major public figures, as well as conservative social media influencers, were among those who made the claim.
Misinformation began spreading in response to a comment made at a press conference last week by Jeanny Pak, the interim president and CEO of New York City’s Economic Development Corporation. Asked how the city will stop people from taking advantage of lower prices at the stores, Pak mentioned the possibility of a “library-card-esque” system.
But city officials say there will be no ID requirement for shoppers.
Here’s a closer look at the facts.
CLAIM: ID will be required to shop at city-owned grocery stores in New York City.
THE FACTS: This is false. No one will be asked to show ID to shop at stores owned by the city, according to officials. A customer card, akin to a loyalty savings card at a traditional supermarket, is being discussed as a way to manage supply and stop people from reselling large amounts of discounted items, but the program would be voluntary and would not require ID to access.
Mamdani laughed off the claim during an appearance on The Joy Reid Show on Monday night, saying: “When we’re talking about a city-run grocery store, one in each borough, which by the way, you do not need an ID to shop at, no matter what you’ve just heard in the news of today, we’re talking about actually addressing the question of skyrocketing grocery prices.”
Joe Calvello and Dora Pekec, both spokespeople for Mamdani, similarly refuted the claims in X posts that evening.
“Insane that this even needs to be said, but to be absolutely clear: NYC Grocery stores will be open to everyone,” Calvello wrote. “There will be no system to verify identity, residency or income, and no one will be asked to show ID to shop. This is the dumbest and fakest online news cycle I have seen.”
The system Pak referred to as “library-card-esque” at last week’s press conference is a customer card that would help stores manage supply and keep aspiring resellers from buying discounted items in bulk, according to Cassio Mendoza, another Mamdani spokesperson. He explained that obtaining such a card would not require ID, residency, or income verification and would be available to anyone who wants one.
In a request for proposals seeking private grocery store operators to run the city-owned shops, the system is described as “a voluntary free-to-access membership card program to monitor sales activity, and implement the discount program and any associated demand management measures.” It makes clear that the cards should not be required for physical access to the stores.
A statement from the Mayor’s Office further clarified that “the operator selected through the City’s procurement process will determine the specific design of that card system” and that “it is not something people will need to apply for through City Hall or another government agency.”
The false claim spreading online is being used to criticize opponents of voter ID laws, many of whom are Democrats. In particular, President Donald Trump’s SAVE America Act would require people to show documentary proof of citizenship before registering to vote and impose nationwide voter ID requirements. The measure has passed the U.S. House but has not gotten a vote in the Senate, where even some Republicans oppose it.
“Comparisons to voter ID laws or the SAVE Act simply do not apply,” the Mayor’s Office statement reads. “This is not an identification system, nor is it a mechanism to verify who someone is, where they live, or how much they earn.”
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