Trump Meets Mamdani at Gracie Mansion, Floats Federal Funds for Sunnyside Yards
President Donald Trump and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani held a joint press conference at Gracie Mansion, discussing the Sunnyside Yards housing proposal, Temporary Protected Status for Haitian New Yorkers, and press access, while trading warm words despite months of public policy disagreements.
President Donald Trump and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani met at Gracie Mansion on Monday for a joint press conference, the first time a sitting president has visited the mayor's residence in decades. The two leaders discussed the Sunnyside Yards housing proposal, Temporary Protected Status for Haitian New Yorkers, and press access, striking a cordial tone despite months of public disagreement on policy.
Trump, who grew up in Queens, offered unexpected praise for the young mayor. «I certainly hope he will be a great mayor,» Trump said. «You have to understand, I want what's good for New York. I want what's good for the country. So, if I had a choice of having him be a bad mayor or horrible mayor, I don't want that. I want him to be a great mayor, and he certainly got potential, had great potential.»
The president, standing alongside Mamdani in the garden of Gracie Mansion, noted he had been hosted at the residence many times over the years. «I've been at Gracie Mansion, we were discussing, quite a few times over the years, a lot. And it sort of feels like a home, and it's a special place, a very special, a beautiful place when you go inside. And I've seen it with numerous different mayors.» He added, «And I said, some great ones and some not so great ones. So hopefully you're going to be a great one. I'll be able to say you're a going to be a great one. And you're off to a start.»
Trump also recalled encouraging Mamdani to move into the mansion after his election, saying the mayor had hesitated over its size. «Well, I can say, from my standpoint, I love New York, and this represents New York. This is where the mayor lived, and continues to live. And we were discussing it a long time ago when you first got elected. I said, 'Well, you're going to move,' because you were maybe having some doubts about moving in because it is a little bit on the luxurious side,» Trump said with a smirk.
The centerpiece of the discussion was Sunnyside Yards, a proposal to deck over the Queens rail yard to create 12,000 homes and 30,000 jobs. According to the mayor's office, the project would require more than $21 billion in federal grants. Mamdani described the conversation as productive. «What we're talking about is something very rare in our city. It's the possibility of constructing an entirely new neighborhood, and again, it's only possible with federal partnership,» he explained.
Trump, a Queens native, did not commit to sending federal funds but acknowledged the project would be costly without them. «Sunnyside's a big job. I've been watching that for 35 years,» he said, likely referring to the 1980s when he owned the New Jersey Generals football team and toyed with the idea of bringing an arena to the area, dubbed at the time the «Trumpdome.» «The mayor brought that up—the possibility of doing Sunnyside Yards. You're going to need a lot of federal approvals and probably some federal money to do it. But it's always been a great location.»
Following the joint press conference, which also included remarks about TPS and the banning of several media outlets from the White House, Mamdani took additional questions regarding the conversation and the budding relationship between the two leaders. «The president and I have both been very frank about the many disagreements that we have, and immigration is one of those places,» Mamdani said. «We've both spoken about very different approaches, very different beliefs, and I will continue to have conversations with the president, and frankly, with anyone who can deliver relief to the people of the city.»
The meeting marked a notable shift in tone between the two politicians, who have clashed publicly on issues including immigration policy. Trump's visit to Gracie Mansion was the first by a sitting president in decades, underscoring the significance of the encounter. While no concrete commitments were made regarding federal funding for Sunnyside Yards, both leaders signaled a willingness to continue dialogue on issues affecting New York City.
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