MSME Actors Want Zohran Mamdani To Focus On Programs Instead Of Confrontation With President Trump

Zohran Mamdani. (Wikimedia Commons/Bingjiefu He)

JAKARTA - Small and medium enterprises such as grocery stores, supermarkets and restaurants in New York City said on Wednesday they hoped the elected Mayor Zohran Mamdani would focus on promises to make the city more affordable, rather than confrontation with President Donald Trump.

Mamdani, 34, who is a democrat socialist, won fierce competition that attracted national attention. He won the hearts of young voters with his campaign focused on affordability, including promises to freeze leases and raise taxes for the rich. However, his proposal raises concerns among the city's business community, fearing a decline in economic growth and erosion of its tax base.

In his winning speech, Mamdani criticized President Trump, who threatened to send the US National Guard to the city and steppe up immigration law enforcement.

Frank Marte, president of the Bodegas and Small Business Group in New York City, who represents 3.000 bodega, hairmakers and other small businesses, said he was concerned that rising tensions with Trump could trigger federal retaliation.

"He spoke about confrontation with Trump, which he will not win. This city or New Yorkers, they will suffer," Marte said.

Some business owners are worried about their plan to open a city government-owned grocery store in each region to offer wholesale prices to residents.

"The government doesn't know how to manage the store," said David Schwartz, director of the New York Grocery Store Association, while recording challenges in recruiting workers and meeting customer preferences.

Mamdani's campaign team did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

At the beginning of his campaign, Mamdani uploaded a popular video on social media stating that the city was experiencing "Halalflation", with the high price of food ingredients forcing food truck owners widespread in the city to set higher prices for dishes such as chicken than rice.

Hakki Akdeniz, owner of the NYC Essex steak restaurant and more than 20 other restaurants, said he hoped Mamdani would prioritize the homeless and those who are starving, given his own experience as "a homeless immigrant who comes to New York without knowing English at all."

Meanwhile, Andrew Rigie, executive director of the NYC Hospitality Alliance, who represents restaurants and nightclubs, asked Mamdani to focus on increasing affordability by involving small business experts, cutting bureaucracy and reducing fines.

Meanwhile, John Catsimatidis, owner of the supermarket chain Gristedes and D'Agostino in New York, told Reuters he plans to "relieve" about 20 percent to 25 percent of his $1 billion real estate asset in the city after Mamdani's win, including selling many Gristedes stores and other properties.

"As a New Yorker for 70 years, I am very worried that socialism will take over," he said.

Separately, Keith airing, owner often, a French brasserie in the SoHo area of Manhattan, praised Mamdani in an Instagram post, saying she would "happy pay more taxes so that everyone in New York is able to live here and enjoy a decent and healthy life."

As of Thursday afternoon Indonesian time, Mamdani had pocketed 1,036,051 votes (50.4 percent), ahead of Andrew Cuomo, who is an independent candidate with 854,995 votes (41.6 percent) and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa who won 146,137 votes (7.1 percent), quoted from NBC News.