By: Carl Schwartzbaum

Billionaire supermarket mogul John Catsimatidis has issued a stark warning to New Yorkers: if Democratic Socialist mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani is elected, he may shutter or sell off his iconic Gristedes supermarket chain and relocate his business empire out of New York City entirely.

In an exclusive interview with The New York Post, Catsimatidis did not mince words, calling Mamdani’s economic platform a direct threat to the viability of private enterprise in the city. “We can’t compete with Mamdani opening city-run supermarkets for free,” he said, blasting the candidate’s proposal to establish government-operated grocery stores throughout the five boroughs.

The 76-year-old billionaire—whose Red Apple Group spans real estate, energy, media, and retail—suggested that Mamdani’s progressive vision would not only spell disaster for legacy businesses like Gristedes, but also accelerate a corporate exodus from Manhattan. “We’d probably move our corporate headquarters to New Jersey,” he told The New York Post, adding that such a move could encompass much of his vast business portfolio.

Gristedes, a quintessential New York grocery brand founded in 1888, currently operates 17 stores across Manhattan. It has survived world wars, economic downturns, and shifting consumer trends—but now finds itself, according to Catsimatidis, imperiled by a political ideology he says threatens the city’s free-market foundation.

“Will Mamdani run the supermarkets with union help? When people start shoplifting, will he even have cops arrest them?” Catsimatidis asked rhetorically, highlighting growing concerns among business owners about lax law enforcement policies under progressive leadership.

The New York Post reported that in a follow-up interview with The Press, Catsimatidis suggested he may also shift his personal residency to Florida, a state he praised as the “promised land” for business-friendly policies and lower taxes. “I would spend far less than 183 days a year here, that’s for sure,” he said, referencing the threshold that determines New York state tax residency.

Mamdani, a self-described Democratic Socialist and current state assemblyman representing Queens, has proposed sweeping reforms that include publicly owned grocery stores, higher corporate taxes, and a redistributive economic model to reshape the city’s cost-of-living dynamics.

But critics argue his proposals are detached from economic reality. As The New York Post reported, the potential impact on business confidence has already set off alarm bells in the financial sector and real estate community.

One such voice is billionaire hedge-fund manager Bill Ackman, who echoed Catsimatidis’ concerns in an interview with The Free Press. “If Mamdani becomes the mayor of New York, you’re going to see the flight of businesses from New York,” Ackman warned. He emphasized that most financial firms, including his own—Pershing Square Capital Management—are “incredibly portable” and would face few obstacles relocating to more tax-friendly environments such as Miami.

Ackman’s and Catsimatidis’s warnings are eerily reminiscent of the pandemic-era flight of capital and talent from New York in 2020 and 2021, when lockdowns, rising crime, and remote work led to record office vacancies and a migration of high-income residents. As The New York Post reported at the time, a combination of city mismanagement and high taxation drove thousands of New Yorkers to states like Florida, Texas, and Tennessee.

The prospect of a Mamdani-led City Hall—perceived by many in the business community as a throwback to 1970s-style economic populism—could reignite those fears. While Mamdani has cultivated support among younger and more progressive voters, polls show his campaign’s rhetoric is alienating some of the city’s most prominent employers.

A Tuesday poll, cited by The New York Post, shows Mamdani with a narrow lead over embattled former governor Andrew Cuomo, who is attempting a political comeback despite unresolved allegations that forced his 2021 resignation. Cuomo has positioned himself as a centrist alternative to Mamdani’s radical platform, garnering support from moderates and traditional Democrats uneasy with the city’s leftward lurch.

The New York Post reached out to Mamdani’s campaign for comment, but a spokesperson did not immediately respond.

As the race for mayor intensifies, the stakes for New York’s future could not be higher. For business leaders like Catsimatidis, Mamdani’s election could mark the final chapter in a long struggle to keep private enterprise viable in a city where progressivism has increasingly reshaped public policy.

In his closing remarks to The New York Post, Catsimatidis delivered a stark forecast: “You put Mamdani in charge of this city, and you’re going to lose the very businesses and taxpayers that make it run.”

Whether that prediction materializes remains to be seen—but one thing is clear: the battle for New York’s economic identity is no longer theoretical. It’s happening in real time, and Gristedes may soon become a symbol of what’s at stake.