**Summary**
In early 2026 Amazon announced the closure of all 72 of its Fresh and Go grocery stores nationwide—including the two Long Island locations that had opened just months earlier—citing an inability to create a viable economic model for large‑scale physical grocery expansion. The move followed a series of earlier closures in New York City (three Go stores shut in September 2024) that warned of unsustainable lease costs, taxes, regulatory burdens, and shoplifting losses. Amazon’s retreat is part of a broader exodus of major corporations from New York: JP Morgan Chase now employs more staff in Texas than in Manhattan, Apollo Global Management is eyeing a second headquarters in Florida or Texas, and Amazon itself cut 30,000 white‑collar jobs in late‑2025/early‑2026, many based in New York.
Coincidentally, in the same quarter as Amazon’s store shutdowns, Mayor Zoron Mandani unveiled a $70 million plan to build five city‑owned grocery stores (one per borough), with a flagship East Harlem location slated to cost $30 million and open in 2029—far above the typical $10 million cost for a comparable private grocery. Critics argue the mayor is attempting to replicate a business model that Amazon, with its vast resources and supply‑chain expertise, deemed unprofitable in New York, risking a double burden on taxpayers: first for the private sector’s failure to survive the city’s high‑cost environment, then for a public‑sector effort likely to repeat the same economic shortcomings.
The video warns that New York’s experience reflects a national pattern: high taxes, heavy regulation, and political hostility toward businesses are driving companies and jobs away, eroding the tax base, raising costs for remaining residents, and potentially triggering a fiscal death spiral. It concludes by asking whether city‑owned groceries can succeed where Amazon failed—or if New York is poised to spend $70 million learning the same lesson Amazon just paid for.
1. Amazon bought Whole Foods for $13.7 billion in 2017.
2. Amazon has been developing its grocery division for over 20 years.
3. Amazon reports over $150 billion in annual grocery sales.
4. On January 27 2026, Amazon announced via a corporate blog post the closure of all 72 of its Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go stores nationwide, most within a week.
5. The closure included the two Long Island Amazon Fresh stores in East Soot and Oceanside and all Amazon stores in New York City.
6. The East Soot Amazon Fresh store opened in October 2024 and operated for roughly 1.5 months before closing.
7. A second Amazon location (described as the “plane view” site) opened and closed within one year, affecting 135 long‑term employees.
8. Amazon’s stated reason for the closures was an inability to create the right economic model for large‑scale expansion.
9. In September 2024, Amazon closed three Amazon Go stores in New York City, citing high lease costs, low customer demand, and technology/rent issues.
10. Those September 2024 closures occurred 16 months before the nationwide announcement.
11. In January 2026 Amazon cut 16,000 corporate jobs; in October 2025 it cut another 14,000, totaling 30,000 white‑collar jobs eliminated in six months, many based in New York.
12. On April 6 2026, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Diamond said the firm’s Texas office now employs more people than its New York City office.
13. Apollo Global Management announced plans for a second headquarters in either Florida or Texas.
14. The Pathmark store on 125th Street in Harlem shut down, leaving parts of the neighborhood reliant on farm‑stand programs.
15. Antonio Penna, president of the National Supermarket Association (representing 450 NYC stores), said independent grocers operate at low margins due to high lease costs, high taxes, shoplifting losses, and shrinking margins.
16. Mayor Zoron Mandani used his April 2026 100‑day address to unveil a plan for five city‑owned grocery stores (one per borough) with a total cost of $70 million of public funds.
17. The flagship East Harlem location is budgeted at $30 million and slated to open in 2029.
18. Industry sources note a typical 15,000‑sq‑ft grocery store without elevators or escalators costs under $10 million to build.
19. Comparable existing retail spaces near the planned East Harlem site are listed for sale: a 33,000‑sq‑ft space for $15 million and a 15,000‑sq‑ft space for $7 million.
20. Amazon’s internal conclusion after years of investment was that physical grocery operations in New York City are not economically viable.
21. In its first week in office (January 5 2026), Mayor Mandani signed an executive order targeting “hitting fees and subscription traps,” specifically naming Amazon’s Prime subscription design.
22. The mayor also proposed a 2 % surtax on income above $1 million and a corporate‑tax increase to match New Jersey’s rate.
23. Governor Kathy Hochul publicly refused to sign either the surtax or the corporate‑tax proposal.
24. New York City was facing a projected $5.4 billion budget gap at the time of the announcements.
25. Similar business‑exit patterns driven by high taxes, heavy regulation, and political hostility have been reported in California, Illinois, and New Jersey.