(The Center Square) — New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is facing a lawsuit over his plans to open a chain of government-run grocery stores from a group of bodega owners who say it will put them out of business.

A class-action lawsuit filed Monday in state Supreme Court by the Multicultural Business Coalition, a nonprofit group that represents hundreds of small businesses, alleges Mamdani's plans to set up five city-run grocery stores would hurt immigrant and minority-owned businesses. The group filed a separate lawsuit alleging that the Mamdani administration doesn't have the legal authority to create the new stores.

In an eight-page complaint, lawyer for the plaintiffs say it is "beyond debate" that Mamdani's proposed stores will "openly compete with grocery stores at large, including members of the MBC, who are members of groups historically discriminated against, and who run grocery stores barely making profits, in some instances not operating in the red." 

"Therefore, many minority members of the MBC cannot compete with the municipal grocery stores, and therefore, will be put out of business resulting in further exclusion of minority groups that are historically excluded by the City of New York from economic opportunities," the complaint states. 

Lawyers for the group point out in the lawsuit that the city hasn't conducted any studies about potential impact of opening grocery stores with discounts up to 30% on other businesses in the city's five boroughs. 

"The Defendants’ establishment of the municipal grocers, coming without any studies, threatens to further exclude immigrant and minority business owners from opportunities, for the same reason the City has long refused to allow Walmart to open any stores in the City of New York," the lawsuit states. 

Mamdani's push to open city-run grocery stores was a campaign promise for the democratic socialist, whose far-left agenda also includes plans for universal childcare, tuition-free community colleges, and free bus service.

Under the mayor's plans, which will require City Council approval, the stores wouldn't pay rent or property taxes, allowing them to keep their overhead costs down and pass on savings to shoppers, according to the Mamdani administration. The $70 million initiative calls for hiring a private operator to run the stores under the city's pricing rules.

The stores will sell food at prices 30% cheaper than average retail stores, according to the Mamdani, which will be available to shoppers regardless of their income.

Mamdani defended his plan at an unrelated press conference Monday when asked about the lawsuit, saying: “I’m confident in both the legality of this — that it will stand up in court — and the importance of delivering it." 

“We’re talking about delivering five city-run grocery stores in a city of eight and a half million people that has more than 1,000 grocery stores,” Mamdani told reporters.