The DeVory Darkins Show - Mamdani BLINDSIDED by Legal Nightmare after hundreds launch class action lawsuit

Episode Date: August 25, 2026

Mamdani BLINDSIDED by Legal Nightmare after hundreds launch class action lawsuit. This comes after Bodega Owners are coming together to push back on the Mayor. The crazy part is their tax dollars is funding their competition. And in the end DSA could care less if are able to turn a profit to stay open.FOLLOW ME:⁠https://www.x.com/devorydarkins⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/devorydarkins⁠⁠https://www.rumble.com/c/devorydarkins⁠⁠https://devory.wtf.tv⁠BUY ME A COFFEE:⁠https://buymeacoffee.com/devorydarkins⁠SHOP OUR MERCH STORE:⁠https://store.devorydarkins.com⁠BUSINESS INQUIRIES:⁠[e-mail]⁠

Two and five Canadians will hear the words you have cancer. That's why every step and dollar raised matters. On September 19th, join thousands in Toronto for the Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation Walk. Challenge yourself, friends, and family to walk 21 kilometers in support of life-saving research. Together, we can carry the fire and help create a world free from the fear of cancer. Register today at pmcfwalk.ca. In the latest legal nightmare for Mayor Mondani, hundreds of New York City bodega business owners are now suing the mayor. Take a listen.

Yes, Cheryl, that's absolutely right. It's now come down to this. We have learned exclusively that this group, this coalition representing 50 chambers of commerce, a lot of minority-owned grocery stores and bodegas, they are ready to sue the city of New York over their government-run grocery stores. The Multicultural Business Coalition exclusively telling us the lawsuit is drafted. It will be filed this morning sometime between. between now and 9 a.m. Essentially, what they are arguing is that it is unfair. The city is using taxpayer dollars. So these very same businesses are funding these government-run grocery

stores that won't have to pay anything in taxes and then we'll be able to out-compete, potentially putting out of business these locally owned. I think the better question for Mondani that I'd love for him the answer, does he actually care about the idea that a small business in a neighborhood who worked very hard to be there to begin with is now going to be competing with a government-owned grocery store right across the street from their bodega. What world are we living in? We're in front of them right now, one of them. Elvis Aria is the manager.

His family's owned this market for 25 years. He's being represented in this lawsuit because if we're spinning around, his grocery store is right across the street from this lot, which will become La Marquita, the government-run grocery store here in East Harlem. It will not have to pay anything in taxes. Elvis tells us that will make it important. possible for him to compete, and he's worried that it means he will go out of business. I can't compete because he gets better price at me.

So I sell something, maybe in $3, he got it $150, $1.25. Over there, because it's $3. Yeah, just imagine being that guy in his family. I mean, you spend all the money you had in your bank account to open up something like that, and then the government comes along and says, hey, we're going to set up our own store that doesn't need to turn a profit, by the way, that's going to sell the same items you do at half the price across the street. This is lunacy. I mean, this is craziness. But here's another question. If you're Mondani, how do you respond to this lawsuit? How are you responding to the level of

resistance that you know you're going to face? Well, here's this plan. We have reached out to the city for comment regarding the lawsuit, but we have yet to hear back, but they have recently walked back comments regarding the government-run stores. The lead official for NYC groceries told New York One that they were exploring grants for local businesses to help them compete with the government run stores. So taxpayers paying for the government run stores and paying for the stores that already exist. But the mayor's office has since walked that back telling Fox Digital they are not considering grant programs for existing grocers. Now this location here in Harlem is expected to cost taxpayers $30 million. Keep in mind,

Cheryl, there are supposed to be five stores with a total of $70 million set aside. 30 million for Justice One location expected to be open by 2029. But now the small business owners, like the one behind me, are ready to fight back. Yeah, if you're a bodega owner and you happen to be watching my show, my statement to you would be you absolutely should be pushing back. This is your city. Okay, you're the one who's going to have to deal with the consequences, not the mayor. He won't be the mayor for the next 50 years, but you might be able to own that business

for the next 50 years. So yeah, you should definitely stand up and do something about it. But while this announcement came out today about this lawsuit, I think you guys would be interested to find out what the mayor had to say publicly in front of a camera. Here's his response. A group of about 15 minority groups that represent bodega owners are filing suit to stop your city-run groceries. They say that your city-run groceries, and I quote, are a direct assault on minority businesses by a mayor who claims to be a champion of the disenfranchised poor and working class New Yorkers. How do you feel about that? They feel that they're being disenfranchised and what's your response to their suit and their attempt to stop your city-run grocery stores?

I continue to be fully confident in both the legality and the importance of our initiative to deliver five city-run grocery stores, one in each borough, to the people of our city. We are talking about a reflection of a cost of living crisis that has seen grocery prices increased by about 30% over the last few years. Well, something that the mayor fails to realize is that this family owned bodega, which will be across the street from his government-on grocery store, does not actually compete with a thousand different bodegas. It's going to be competing with that government-owned grocery store. And then let's not forget the tax money from that bodega is funding this government-owned grocery store. In what world does that make sense? I'll tell you what, a mayor who claims to be a champion of the disenfranchise, does not seem to be able to graphs he is doing the disenfranchising.

Here's more of what he had to say. And we're also talking about delivering five city-run grocery stores in a city of eight and a half million people that has more than a thousand grocery stores. And we've seen, in fact, with Essex Street Market in Manhattan as well as more street market in Brooklyn, a model where the city has subsidized groceries and it has not had a negative effect on. bodegas around them or on grocery stores around them. And I'm confident both in the legality of this that it will stand up in court and the importance of delivering it. Okay. So in other words, this lawsuit is baseless, according to the mayor, you know, standing up these government-owned grocery stores with tax money from the bodegas will not, I guess, affect them in a negative way. But if Mandani is so confident about all of this, then he's saying he's willing to work with everyone on this,

Why is one of the head of the immigrant businesses that's in this coalition, the person who's heading up this class action lawsuit, contradict everything that the mayor just said? Take a listen. Your group filed the lawsuit this morning. Have you heard back from the mayor's office at all? Good morning. No, we have not. We have not heard from him. So to pick up on Madison's report there, obviously the grocers that have to run their business on their own say this is completely unfair. How would you respond to that? I mean, could this put local stores out of business? Definitely. My grandfather was head of the Bodega Association.

That bodega where you had your reporter there was one of the bodega. My grandfather started with five others. the 1960s. So the legacy of the Puerto Rican bodega in that area where they're going to put them out of business, all of them. There's no way we could compete or people could compete with 30%. They only make two or three percent profit on that. So to us, it's a big concern. That's why we put the lawsuit. We did not want to put the lawsuit. We wanted to sit down to give different ways that we could bring down the cost. We created a buying group. and we created other ways, but he didn't want to speak to us.

There's this socialist thing. And then one of the head of the DSA said, if they can't compete, let them go out of business. I hear that they're asking for him to step down. I'm asking for him to step down. That heartless mentality is what we're afraid of. So did you guys see how he pointed out how bodegas run on a 2% to 3% profit margin? This is the same thing as restaurants.

That's why even in your local town, I'm sure you've seen restaurants come and go. If they have a bad few months, it's going to be over for them. And that's exactly what will happen to these bodegas. If that store opens up and they start losing money three months in a row, they may have to shut their doors.

But Mondani obviously doesn't see that. He doesn't see it as a problem because he comes from the DSA point of view about how this country should be governed. And to give you an example, how bad it really is, listen to that DSA co-chair, who says it's SOL for these bodegas. So they're up like breaking ground on one grocery store so far.

It's going to cost $30 million to build a grocery store. In what world does it make sense to build a $30 million grocery store and put competitive pressure on the bodegas that are in the neighborhood? I think that what we saw in the mayoral campaign is the mayor was able to build a movement that inspired people to believe that we could have a government that works for ordinary people that is actually responsive to the working class. Inspiration is great, but if you're the bodega owner, how would you feel? If the government opened a big grocery store right next to your bodega, how would you feel?

If one publicly owned grocery store that brings prices down in the neighborhood is enough to put someone out of business, then maybe they shouldn't have been in that business in the first place. Two and five Canadians will hear the words you have cancer. That's why every step and dollar raised matters. On September 19th, join thousands in Toronto for the Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation Walk. Challenge yourself, friends, and family to walk 21 kilometers in support of life-saving research. Together, we can carry the fire and help create a world free from the fear of cancer. Register today at pmcfwalk.ca.ca.

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So I think that sums up how the DSA feels about small business owners, particularly the bodegas in New York City, and how they're willing to sacrifice them to get their way with these government-owned grocery stores. So let's go to our next update. This is in regards to the state of Florida. And it's bad news for Angie Nixon because according to CNN, the polls show that Republicans are clearly in charge. You take a look at the average of all these race ratings. It was likely Republican. Now it is. solidly Republican. Republican chances going up through the roof in Florida. But the truth is that Republicans have had a pretty gosh darn good run in Florida. And I'm not quite sure it necessarily mattered too much who is going to be nominated because, you know, I remember when Florida was a swing state that Democrats would compete in, right? Barack Obama won in 2008 and 2012. Hillary Clinton was quite competitive there in 2016. It's no longer a swing state. It's no longer a purple state.

It's a red state now. And you can see it right here. Okay, the Florida party registration edge. You go back to 2016 when Hillary Clinton was quite competitive. Democrats led in party registration in Florida by three points. Look at where we are now, though. And look at where we are in 2024. In 2024, by the time that Donald Trump was easily winning another term in the White House in Florida, winning that state,

look at this. It was Republican plus eight. Now it is Republican plus 11 points. What a massive change from where we were in 2016 when Democrats had the party registration edge in Florida. So that Florida Senate race moving more towards the right in the Republican direction, that's just part of a larger trend. Yeah, I think that trend is not shocking, especially if you're from Florida. You can share your thoughts in the comments section below in regards to it. But, you know, the one thing that's on my mind is why is that trend continuing to grow?

Well, one part, I think, is because the Democrat Party cannot put up any good candidates. I mean, Angie Nixon, the only reason why we talk about her is because she's the one that won her primary. She's the only Democrat socialists who won our primary in the state of Florida. But she's a terrible candidate. And I'll give you an example here. On MSDNC, they asked her if she was excited. And again, this is MSDNC, is she excited about all the black candidates across the country running for elected office? Clearly the answer was yes on that.

But when it came to Byron Donald's, here's what she had to say. This election cycle has produced a historic slate of black gubernatorial nominees, along with Byron Donald's in Florida. On the Republican side, you have Congressman John James in Michigan and in Minnesota's Lisa Dumuth. Then the Democrats have David Crowley in Wisconsin, Aaron Ford in Nevada, Jermaine Johnson, in South Carolina, and Keisha Lance Bottoms in Georgia. Your thoughts on this moment for black.

politicians top of the ticket across the country? I just think it's amazing to see. I'm excited about it. And so I'm super excited at these new slates of candidates, with the exception of the Bair and Domino's of the world, right? But I'm excited. I think the country is craving something different. They're craving no nonsense.

They're craving some people who are going to put people first. Well, I would argue, based on what she just said, said she's not a good candidate because she's full of nonsense. I mean, I don't understand why she had throw a jab at Byron Donald's if your whole thing is black, black, blackety black. I mean, shouldn't you be excited that Byron Donald's might potentially become the next governor of Florida? Won't that make history in your mind? Don't you want black people to get ahead because we've been oppressed for generations on end and the country has sold us out every step of the way? I'm just using her logic. It's the same thing with some Sears in the state of Virginia. They went real quiet

when she ran for governor, right? They had nothing to say. In fact, Barack Obama endorsed Abigail Spamberger. So I think we know who Democrats truly are. But again, let's back this up with numbers. Florida Senate is not the only place where Republicans are probably going to do well in federal elections come this November. You concede in the House ratings as well. Now, there was a redistricting that happened in Florida, but it's just part of, again, a larger trend of Republicans continuously doing while in Florida and actually doing better over time. Take a look here. U.S. House seats in Florida. GOP pickups this year, we're talking about two to three seats possible. Two to three seats possible. Again, aided by redistricting, but no doubt part of a larger trend of Florida moving further

and further to the right. Now, here's the real problem, though, with Florida moving further and further than right, right? We're not just talking about a state like Wyoming that has only electoral votes. Florida is becoming a more populous state. It is becoming one that has increasing power in politics. And now as we look forward to the 2030s, the projection is something like 32 electoral votes. If you're Democrats, you don't want to be losing ground in Florida, but you're doing exactly that. This is great news for Republicans. And bad news for Democrats, particularly in the state of Florida. And if you're from Florida, please chime in in the comment section. I just think this update is interesting. And Angie Nixon, I'm telling you, she's

going to get more attention. I don't think she's going to beat Ashley Moody. And if she did, I think I might have a lot to say about people in Florida at that point. At any rate, share your thoughts about today's update in regards to this video today. What do you make of what's going on with Mondani? These bodega small business owners, they got to sue them. They got to stand up for what they believe it and protect what is theirs. He doesn't care, as you guys know. And you know how we know he doesn't care. He thinks throwing them some grant money is going to solve their issues. It's not. So share your thought. Share the show with your family and friends. And if you missed out on more updates that happened over the weekend, click on the next video because it's coming up right now.

Two and five Canadians will hear the words you have cancer. That's why every step and dollar raised matters. On September 19th, join thousands in Toronto for the Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation walk. Challenge yourself, friends, and family to walk twice. 21 kilometers in support of life-saving research. Together, we can carry the fire and help create a world free from the fear of cancer. Register today at pmcf walk.ca.ca.