Trump and Mayor Mamdani Discuss Sunnyside Yards Housing Project

President Donald Trump and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani met for approximately 90 minutes on Monday, September 21, 2026, at Gracie Mansion. The meeting, held ahead of the United Nations General Assembly, focused on improving affordability for New Yorkers through a proposal to build 12,000 housing units and create 30,000 jobs. The project involves constructing the world's largest rail deck over Amtrak's Sunnyside Yard in Queens, an effort estimated to require $21 billion in federal funding.

Despite their opposing political ideologies—Trump as a Republican and Mamdani as a democratic socialist—the two maintained a cordial tone. Trump praised Mamdani's start as mayor, while both leaders agreed to establish a formal dialogue between the White House and City Hall's housing and operations teams. The pair also discussed immigration, including the deportation risk for Haitian immigrants following the end of their Temporary Protected Status, though Trump made no formal commitment on the issue.

The meeting occurred amid significant friction, including a federal lawsuit led by New York City against the administration's public charge rule and Trump's recent ban of CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from the White House. While Trump adviser Alex Bruesewitz defended the cordial relationship as healthy, critics such as Laura Loomer and Sid Rosenberg condemned the meeting as a reward for the left that could harm Republican prospects in the upcoming midterm elections.