Fact Check: Did Zohran Mamdani just ban alcohol, cigarettes and lottery tickets in NYC stores?
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: A rumor has been going around that New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani plans to ban alcohol, cigarettes, and lottery tickets due to his Muslim faith.
The progressive firebrand, who has proposed city-run grocery stores to make staples more affordable, was elected the 111th Mayor of New York City, defeating both former Governor Andrew Cuomo and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa.
Claim: Zohran Mamdani is imposing sharia law in NYC
A November 4 Instagram post featuring a photo of Mamdani made the rounds with the accusation that Mamdani was about to impose Islamic rules on everyday New Yorkers.
The viral post racked up 26,000 likes and was shared across social media platforms like Facebook.
“BREAKING: Zohran Mamdani's closing message to New Yorkers and all city-run stores and businesses, ‘City-run grocery stores will not sell cigarettes or lottery tickets - and Absolutely no Alcohol.’ You have no idea what you ALL have just done BECAUSE CIGARETTES, GAMBLING, AND ALCOHOL ARE NOT ALLOWED IN ISLAM!!”
Fact Check: Mixture
According to Snopes, the post was a half-truth at best. Mamdani did indeed say his proposed stores wouldn’t sell cigarettes or lottery tickets, but the “no alcohol” part is pure fiction.
The fact-checking site reached out to Mamdani’s campaign for clarity on whether alcohol would be sold in the city-run stores and noted they’d update their report when a response came in.
The truth is, Mamdani had addressed the issue himself on the same day during an interview on New York City radio station Hot 97. “The highest sources of revenue for bodegas in New York City are cigarettes and lotto, and we have no interest in selling any of that at a city-run grocery store whose entire purpose is to deliver affordable groceries,” Mamdani said on air.
Context behind the claim
The viral claim painted Mamdani’s proposal as an attempt to impose "Islamic rules" on New Yorkers, but Mamdani reportedly wasn’t trying to impose any religious bans. According to Snopes, he was explaining how his stores would avoid competing with the small, often family-owned bodegas that rely heavily on sales from cigarettes and lottery tickets.
It's also worth noting that grocery stores in New York City are already barred from selling alcohol stronger than 6%. Furthermore, such beverages can only make up 25% of a store’s inventory. That means only specialized liquor stores can sell wine and spirits.
Speaking of cigarettes and scratch-offs, not every grocery store sells them anyway. Selling cigarettes or lottery tickets requires special licenses, and there are tight restrictions in place. Pharmacies, for example, can’t sell cigarettes at all.
Bodega support
Later in the Hot 97 interview, Mamdani commented on small business struggles.
“It’s time to actually have a style of politics that speaks of the crisis at hand that says, ‘Look, these same bodegas are facing more regulations than Amazon,’” he said. “And at the same time as we have to take on corporate greed, we have to also make it easier to keep a small business open in this city.”
Just days before the election, United Bodegas of America (a group representing the city’s bodega owners) officially endorsed Mamdani.
This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.
