Will Mamdani’s city-run grocery stores require ID to shop? Here’s the truth

In summer 2026, a rumor circulated online that New York City residents shopping at city-run grocery stores would be required to show photo identification proving they are residents. 

The grocery stores — the first of which is expected to open in late 2027 — are part of New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s plan to make necessities more affordable for residents.

Several Republican lawmakers criticized the alleged ID rule to shop at affordable grocery stores in New York City, comparing it to voter ID requirements, including U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey (archived):

Other prominent conservative figures amplified the claim on X, including Tesla CEO and X owner Elon Musk (archived) and Republican U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace (archived) of South Carolina. Musk wrote, “Oh, the irony is too much.”

Many of the posts included a video of Mamdani introducing Jeanny Pak, interim president and CEO of the nonprofit New York City Economic Development Corp., to talk about measures aimed at preventing people from taking advantage of grocery store services. In the video, Pak said the grocery stores may utilize a “library card-esque” system to ensure they serve “everyday New Yorkers.” 

However, the claim equating this system to an ID requirement for shoppers is false. 

The Mamdani administration is not planning to require shoppers to show photo ID. Instead, a spokesperson for the mayor’s office said, the stores’ operator may create a customer card to manage supply and prevent bulk buying and reselling of goods that would function similarly to existing supermarket loyalty card programs. The cards would be voluntary, according to Mamdani’s office.

“There will be no system to verify identity, residency, or income, and no one will be asked to show ID to shop,” a spokesperson for Mamdani’s office told Snopes in an email.

The authentic clip of Mamdani and Pak comes from a July 27, 2026, news conference where the mayor and his team presented information about how the affordable grocery stores would work. During the news conference, Mamdani said the stores would offer a 30% discount on staple items (at 4:55).

A reporter later asked Mamdani how the grocery stores would prevent people from “taking advantage” and whether there would be “a limit on the number” of discounted items someone could purchase (at 23:10). In response, Mamdani said there would be a system to prevent people from “making a quick buck through reselling” and asked Pak to explain further.

Pak said (emphasis ours):

Yes. If you look at our RFP [request for proposal] for the operator, we are looking to make sure that we target New Yorkers, whether it be at sort of a library card-esque thing or — and also we manage who’s buying and it’s and that is focused on everyday New Yorkers. So we are mindful of that. And so we’re going to make sure that we have all the things in place to make ensure that that does not happen.

A spokesperson for the mayor’s office said in an emailed statement that this system would differ from showing a photo ID to cast a ballot. Instead, the goal was solely to manage supply and ensure no one would buy goods in bulk to resell them at higher prices (emphasis ours):

The only system under discussion is a customer card designed by the private operator to help manage supply and prevent people from buying large quantities of discounted staples for resale. It will function much like a standard supermarket loyalty card, available in the store, and is intended to make sure the savings reach families putting food on the table.

The operator selected through the City’s procurement process will determine the specific design of that card system. It is not something people will need to apply for through City Hall or another government agency.

Comparisons to voter ID laws or the SAVE Act simply do not apply. This is not an identification system, nor is it a mechanism to verify who someone is, where they live, or how much they earn. It is a practical inventory management tool to ensure affordable groceries remain available for the people who need them instead of being cleared off shelves for resale.

Asked for more details, the spokesperson confirmed the cards would be voluntary but indicated the exact system was still in the works:

These are voluntary cards, akin to any loyalty or membership card at a supermarket, that will be utilized by the store to manage inventory. The exact system will be designed by the private operator. But the cards will not have a “cap” per account except in the case of individuals attempting to mass buy up the discounted products for resale. 

For further reading, Snopes has investigated numerous rumors about Mamdani and his administration, including the claim that he said white New Yorkers must pay cash reparations to descendants of Black slaves.