Mayor Zohran Mamdani once again made the case for an affordable housing project in Queens during a friendly meeting Monday with President Trump at Gracie Mansion.
However, Mamdani left the sit-down without securing a commitment for federal funding for the long-discussed Sunnyside Yards redevelopment.
The proposal, stalled for decades before Mamdani revived it earlier this year, was a central topic as the mayor and president continued developing their unlikely political rapport.
Trump acknowledged the site’s potential while speaking with reporters after the meeting. “It’s always been a great location,” he said. “I owned a building in Sunnyside. It was a great building I know very well. So when they mentioned Sunnyside Yard, they’ve been talking about developing that for 50 years.
“So maybe they have a shot at doing it,” Trump added, marking his first public comments on the plan since Mamdani presented it to him earlier this year.
Mamdani said the housing proposal still faces substantial federal regulatory hurdles and financing challenges, making support from the White House potentially important to moving the project forward.
“We’ve spoken about Sunnyside Yard,” Mamdani said. “And it’s a real pleasure that just today we’ve agreed to set up a new level of that conversation between our housing and operations team at City Hall and the White House team, because what we’re speaking about is 12,000 homes, 30,000 jobs.”
“We have a significant way to go, but these meetings do truly assist in that path,” he added.
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