NYC residents queue for free groceries at West Village Polymarket pop-up

In a bustling area of ​​restaurants and shops in the West Village on Sunday, hundreds of New Yorkers lined up outside a pop-up store offering free groceries.

“New Yorkers are hurting,” said Nick of Queens, New York, one of several people interviewed by Fox News Digital outside the pop-up, as he waited to pick up pasta sauce, bath soap and a bag of Tide Pods.

The scene was underscored by the woes of life in the city and the anxiety of who would get a yellow ticket granting access to the small store before the goods were “sold out.”

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The pop-up was opened on February 12 as a five-day store by cryptocurrency-based prediction market Polymarket. This comes as Democratic New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani advances a proposal to create city-run grocery stores, aimed at easing rising food costs and broader affordability pressures.

It has been billed as New York City’s first free grocery store, with critics calling it a stunt on Mamdani’s proposal as the predictive market company faces increased scrutiny from regulators in various states, including New York.

Nick from Queens speaks to Fox News Digital outside the Polymarket. (Fox News Digital)

Shoppers characterized the Polymarket — which was separate from Mamdani-led efforts to unveil subsidized municipal grocery stores in each of New York City’s five boroughs — as a learning moment for the mayor, with residents citing concerns about safety, lack of food and people cutting lines.

The contest attracted residents from all five boroughs — some arriving before sunrise, others showing up mid-morning in hopes of securing a yellow ticket and a spot in the line that wraps around the block.

Rush for tickets

However, as the crowd grew, so did the tension.

People waiting in line told Fox News Digital Sunday they feared they had made the trip for nothing.

“I literally got here at 9 o’clock…and basically what they said was they didn’t have any tickets left,” a woman named Fatima told Fox News Digital.

Another man, Sherrod from Jamaica, Queens, said the same thing happened to him.

“They told me they didn’t have any more tickets,” he said. “I couldn’t get food anymore. … I couldn’t get to the store.”

Sherrod, a New York resident, speaks to Fox News Digital outside the Polymarket on February 15, 2026. (Fox News Digital)

Fatima and Sherrod spoke after security guards began pushing people out of the area shortly after 9 a.m., when the first batch of tickets had disappeared. Several shoppers said they were told to leave the area and come back around 1:30 p.m. for another chance — and not to linger on the sidewalk while ticket holders moved through the store.

“Let’s go people, let’s go. Go home,” a security guard posted outside the Polymarket was heard shouting to the crowd just after 9am on Sunday. “Don’t linger, don’t stare, don’t stare. Please go home.”

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Shoppers were told the pop-up would open at noon and close at 3 p.m., or while supplies last. Ticket holders were let in a couple at a time and paired with a staff member to fill a free blue tote bag.

New Yorkers lined up around the block in the West Village as Polymarket opened its first-ever free pop-up grocery store in New York, offering free groceries to visitors. (Selçuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Polymarket financed and operated the pop-up, a company representative told Fox News Digital, and the prediction market also donated $1 million to the New York Food Bank as part of the effort.

The representative said Polymarket also gave $50 gift cards to some shoppers who ended up at the back of the line and were turned away, in an effort to “be as accommodating as possible.”

Some shoppers criticized the setup – and the mad rush for tickets – while early arrivals said security kept the queue safe.

“Security was phenomenal,” said Nick, who was fourth in line and received a ticket without issue. “This morning there was a drunk guy here harassing a lady. And I was telling him to leave. And the security guy, he saw we were in trouble, and he did his job and got him out of here. He kept us safe.”

Michael, a New York resident, spoke with Fox News Digital outside the Polymarket, which was offering free groceries to those in need. (Fox News Digital)

Another local, Michael, told Fox News Digital: “I’ve seen a mix of things, like security having to work on their presentation, dealing with clients who come from wealthy backgrounds… because they don’t have the customer service expertise.”

Michael set up a chair outside the grocery store and watched shoppers enter and exit the store all morning, but he was not placed in line. He told Fox News Digital that he only had three cups of soup left in his cupboard, but doubted he would have enough Polymarket groceries left at the end of the day for him to stock his pantry.

Prediction market company Polymarket is preparing to open a free grocery store in Manhattan on February 12, 2026 in New York. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

The line attracted all walks of life — people with disabilities, working New Yorkers looking for a financial boost, residents running errands for the homeless, New Yorkers living in shelters and others who spoke no English.

Sumayah, a Brooklynite, said she visited the pop-up earlier in the week and managed to grab “two dozen eggs and some butter” before items started running out. Out of work for more than two months and currently on disability, she said a free grocery trip could save her from spending about $600 a month on food and household essentials.

Sumayah said the process inside might seem uncomfortable for some, citing that shoppers are matched with someone who moved them through the aisles.

“Someone is shopping with me and it makes me a little uncomfortable,” she said. “I also understand because sometimes some people want to overdo it and take like 10 of something… but the person I was with kind of rushed me into things and I couldn’t get everything I wanted.”

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Despite this, Sumayah said her overall experience was “pretty calm and quiet” and called the pop-up “very much needed in New York.” She said the turnout alone showed how widespread the need was — and how quickly word of the free groceries was spreading.

Nicknamed “The Polymarket,” New York City opened its first free grocery store for five days in February. (Selçuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images)

“I even met a woman from India yesterday and she was like, ‘Oh my God, I’m waiting in line. I’m coming to get free food,'” Sumayah said. “I wonder, how should I get back on the plane with this?”

Sumayah called out local leaders who are considering installing city-run stores to ensure the safety of those shoppers as they wait in line for goods — including from neighbors unhappy with the lines — while Sherrod called for a potential effort by the city to be better “organized” and “learn from it.”

Nick added that these stores should be located directly in poor areas and food deserts, away from the wealthy streets of Manhattan.

Hammering Costs

Almost everyone in the queue – whether they had a ticket or not – felt like food prices in the city were exorbitant and that they needed help.

“Oh, I was spending on average between $300 and $500 on groceries,” said Jaquan, who took the A train to the market Sunday morning. “I used to live with my mother, so it was even worse. Right now I’m homeless, living in a shelter.”

Mary, a New York resident, speaks to Fox News Digital outside the Polymarket. (Fox News Digital)

Another Big Apple resident, Monique, said she spent $200 on groceries “the other day” and “didn’t even get much.” Sherrod, who says she has a family of four, estimates her monthly grocery spending at $400 to $500 and describes the free groceries as a real help.

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Nick said choosing to wait hours for a ticket was worth it, noting that it would save him money as other expenses pile up.

“I’ve switched to fast food and it’s harming my health,” he said, adding that he was already a month behind on his phone bill because grocery costs came first.

The Polymarket offered fresh vegetables and fruits, as well as brand name products found in typical grocery stores. (Selçuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images)

The more than 300 people who submitted their tickets were delighted with the result.

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“I got the spaghetti. I got the orange juice. I like orange juice,” Nick from Queens said after walking through the store. “I also had ground beef. They had grass-fed ground beef, lean ground beef, and regular ground beef, so I’m glad I had that. I’m really glad I had the ground beef.”