DEMOCRATIC MAYORAL NOMINEE Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani (A.D. 36) was endorsed by the United Bodegas of America (UBA) during a press conference in the Belmont section of The Bronx on Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025. Video by Síle Moloney

Democratic mayoral nominee, Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani (A.D. 36) was endorsed by the United Bodegas of America (UBA) during a press conference held in The Belmont section of The Bronx on Wednesday, Oct. 29.

 

Speaking outside Deli Grocery & Meat Market, located at 172 Crotona Avenue in The Bronx, the assemblyman, a Democratic progressive, was joined by representatives from UBA, bodega owners, and various Bronx elected officials including Mamdani’s colleagues in the State Assembly, Assembly Member Amanda Séptimo (S.D. 84), Assembly Member George Álvarez (A.D. 78), and in the Senate, State Sen. Gustavo Rivera (S.D. 33) and State Sen. Luis Sepúlveda (S.D. 32).

 

Speaking in Spanish and English, Septimo broadly summed up her remarks by saying that Mamdani was the candidate who would ensure that the local community receives the attention and resources that they deserve. [We missed remarks by Álvarez.]

 

Sepúlveda said, “I’m extremely happy that this is happening here because this is a district that I represent, and I literally live four blocks from here, and to have the Bodegas’ association, who endorsed Zohran Mamdani, is an indication that they really trust his vision in these communities.” Sepúlveda represents the southern part of Belmont, as well as some or all of Crotona, Claremont Village, Tremont, West Farms, Forest Houses, Longwood and part of Morrisania.

He continued, “Bodegas have been such a part of the lifeline of The Bronx and the immigrant community, and they know that the platform that he has is going to be very helpful for them, and very helpful to the people that I represent.”

 

Sepúlveda added, “This, here, we’re standing in one of the poorest districts in the entire country, one of the poorest, probably the poorest in New York State, and people here that I’ve spoken with believe in Zohran’s message, believe that it is a platform about affordable housing, something that’s very critical to the people I represent, [and] is a way to help this community to make it more affordable, and to defend those who, traditionally, have been ignored by government, so they’re very happy to support Zohran, UBA is very happy to support Zohran, and I’m very happy that he’s going to be the next mayor in a couple of weeks.”

 

For his part, Rivera, an early supporter of Mamdani in the primary, said the United Bodegas association, bodega owners, were business people, employers of so many people, and neighbors.

 

“The fact that we’re standing here with them and they represent thousands of bodega owners across the State, and across the City, means that we are one step closer to bringing that coalition together to make Zohran Mamdani the next mayor of the City of New York,” Rivera said, repeating his remarks in Spanish.

Mamdani then addressed those gathered, saying, “I want to say good morning here to everyone. Bronx, it’s good to be back! It’s a pleasure. I want to say thank you, UBA, for this endorsement because with less than a week to go until the election, we are turning the page on the politics of the past.”

 

He added, “It’s important to remember exactly who we’re fighting for. This is the campaign of store clerks and bodega owners. Andrew Cuomo’s campaign is for Donald Trump’s billionaire donors and their conglomerates.” Holding up a breakfast roll wrapped in aluminium foil, he said, “Everyone always says that I’m running on an affordability agenda but that’s not quite true! I’m running on a BEC agenda!”

 

Amid some laughter from the crowd, the assemblyman clarified, “It’s not a bacon, egg and cheese!” [Mamdani is Muslim and Muslims do not eat bacon or pork.] It’s Bringing Economic Change…….with some jalapeños on the side.”

 

The Democratic mayoral nominee continued, “Now, you cannot deliver meaningful economic change without the support of the local businesses that millions of New Yorkers rely on every single day. I was just sharing with the head of UBA that bodegas have been such a critical part of so many New Yorkers’ everyday lives. It’s a place where you go, where your name is known as well as your order, the place where, if you’re short on cash, you can still get what you need because there’s that trust, there’s that community.”

Mamdani added, “And so it is an honor to receive the endorsement of the United Bodegas of America, which represents more than 14,000 bodegas and at one point people were doubting whether we’d receive 14,000 votes! Now, here we are, with a bodega for each one of them, and you can see the importance of a bodega throughout this campaign because it’s where we started our launch video on Oct. 23rd last year. It’s where we spoke to New Yorkers about the fact that fines and fees are crushing so many bodegas’ abilities to stay open, and it’s where so many New Yorkers find a real sense of hope.”

 

The assemblyman continued, “What I want as mayor of this incredible and great city is that working people can walk in and see prices that they can afford, because they’re paying less for childcare and for rent. I want the more than one million Latino New Yorkers who are living in rent-stabilized apartments to feel relief at the end of the month, not panic, and I want them to be greeted by employees who know that establishing the department of community safety (part of Mamdani’s platform) [would ensure] that police officers have a higher response time so that they can actually respond to the very things that give New Yorkers so much anxiety.”

 

Mamdani said he wanted small business owners who open and run bodegas to feel supported by a city government that he said will be “eliminating the red tape, the bureaucracy, cutting small business fines in half and increasing funding for one-to-one support by 500% because we measure our city’s health by the health of our small businesses.”

 

He continued, “If the aisles are bustling, if the shop is full of our neighbors greeting neighbors, kids are ordering sandwiches, and New Yorkers are walking out with heavy hands but light shoulders, that means that the city is vibrant too, and I’m honored to have this endorsement, and I look forward to delivering for every single bodega owner and bodega shopper in New York City.”

Responding to some inaudible questions, Mamdani seemed to say that often, bodega owners feel isolated. He was then asked about “Operation Padlock” and it was difficult to hear his complete answer but he seemed to say that he had not yet spoken with Gov. Kathy  Hochul on the matter, but that some assembly members had had concerns with the way the Sheriff’s office was implementing the operation and that he would assess the situation before making any decisions, if elected.

 

Seemingly asked about food insecurity, he said, “We are concerned about the fact of hunger in this city, affordability in this city. We actually know that in terms of Latino workers, one in four are facing that hunger crisis right here across the five boroughs, so we put forward a proposal for a pilot program for a city-owned grocery store in each borough, five in total. Yet, we also know that that cannot be the exhaustive list of how we take on this crisis.”

 

Mamdani continued, “Just before we were having a conversation about the way that streamlining regulations can assist bodega owners in the work that they do, about taking on some of the warehouse logistics issues, and also understanding the role that the city has to play in not being a burden on these same small businesses but rather being a support.”

 

He added, “I think that the key part here, because I’ve also heard from bodega owners that some of the highest points of revenue in a bodega have to do with cigarette sales, lottery sales. These are not the things that the city hopes to [inaudible] …. what we are speaking about are groceries and at a very small scale [inaudible].”

 

UBA was then seemingly asked why they were not concerned about the impact of the proposed government-run supermarkets on competition among bodegas. An UBA representative said in Spanish, later translated by Rivera, “Well, really, after having seen that they are trying to attack Zohran Mamdani so much, being an immigrant, because we are almost all immigrants, the bodega owners, we think and we are sure that we will be able to have more access to many more opportunities with him than with any other candidate.”

Mamdani’s visit followed another press conference also in The Bronx on Friday, Oct. 24, outside the Islamic Cultural Center of The Bronx, located north of Melrose, when the assemblyman asked voters to reject tired Islamophobic tropes and reiterated that he aims to be a mayor “fighting for every single New Yorker.”

 

The following day,  UBA co-founder and spokesman, Fernando Mateo, announced his immediate resignation from UBA, following what he said was UBA President Radhamés Rodríguez’s endorsement of Mamdani. Mateo said UBA was “a non political organization that cannot and should not make endorsements since it is a not for profit entity.”

 

He said the decision by its president was “a betrayal to thousands of bodega owners and workers,” who he said depended on the organization to remain neutral and focused on their well being. He said “the meeting” that took place in The Bronx with Mamdani the previous day was meant to be a dialogue about continuing the safety programs that were established with New York City Mayor Eric Adams, and to protect bodega owners and workers.

 

“Instead Mr. Rodríguez used the meeting to publicly endorse Mamdani without warning,” Mateo said. “This act is a betrayal to every bodega owner and to the organization’s principles.”

Mateo alleged Mamdani has been “soft on crime,” and supported ideas “such as government-run bodegas” that would compete against private owners. “How can Mr. Rodríguez support someone whose positions go against the very people he represents and the business practices we have built for decades?” Mateo said. “We are working hard to maintain good relationships with every candidate running and may the best one win, but we cannot stand behind a political endorsement that hurts the small businesses we were created to defend.”

 

Mateo alleged bodega workers and owners feel betrayed and have said UBA no longer represents them. “Thousands are expected to resign, weakening the organization to its core,” he said, adding that a new organization called The Bodega Alliance was being formed to properly represent bodega owners and workers “with transparency, unity, and a focus on safety and advocacy.”

 

Norwood News reached out to Mateo for confirmation of the number of resignations seen from UBA since he resigned and will share any feedback we receive. We also reached out to Álvarez’s office for comment on the topic. Álvarez had later accompanied Mamdani on a tour of businesses located on Fordham Road after the event. We will share any feedback we receive accordingly.

 

The mayoral, and other, general elections in New York City take place on Tuesday, Nov. 4. Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Early voting began Saturday, Oct. 25, through Sunday, Nov. 2. The voter registration deadline is Saturday, Oct. 25, which is the last day your application can be received by the Board of Elections to be eligible to vote. For more information, visit  https://www.nycvotes.org/how-to-vote/elections-calendar/#voter+registration+deadline.