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Matzav · Sep 21, 2026

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Trump and Mamdani Talk Housing, Affordability in Hourlong Gracie Mansion Meeting During U.N. Week “I have a lot of meetings right now, very important meetings with heads of different countries, but this is like a little bit of old home week for me,” Trump said, adding, “We’ve done so many things from the beautiful home or house or building standing right behind me.” Housing emerged as one of the central subjects of Monday’s discussion. Trump and Mamdani said they spoke about plans for a large-scale development in Queens as well as broader efforts to reduce the cost of living for working-class New Yorkers. More specifically, the discussion included the long-debated proposal to build over Sunnyside Yard in western Queens. The massive rail yard has for years been eyed as a potential site for a new neighborhood, and Trump and Mamdani said Monday that discussions over a plan involving approximately 12,000 homes were moving forward. The project has been estimated to cost roughly $21 billion and would face substantial engineering, financing and approval hurdles before construction could begin. Housing has been a central focus of Mamdani’s first year at City Hall. His administration says New York City financed the creation or preservation of 12,491 affordable homes during the first six months of 2026, while his first city budget included a planned $22 billion in affordable-housing capital investment over five years. Monday’s meeting continued a relationship that has attracted attention because of the substantial ideological differences between the Republican President and the democratic socialist mayor. Their first meeting came at the White House shortly after Mamdani won the 2025 mayoral election. The encounter was considerably more cordial than the public exchanges that had characterized the campaign, during which the two repeatedly criticized each other. At the White House meeting, both emphasized areas where federal and city officials might cooperate on issues affecting New Yorkers. Mamdani returned to Washington in February for another meeting with Trump. During that visit, he presented the President with a mock New York Daily News front page reading “Trump to City: Let’s Build,” a play on the newspaper’s famous 1975 “Ford to City: Drop Dead” headline. Mamdani used the meeting to press for federal cooperation on housing development in New York. Both men acknowledged Monday that those cooperative discussions have not erased their significant disagreements on other issues. One such disagreement surfaced during the post-meeting press conference when Mamdani was asked about Trump’s decision to bar CNN, MS NOW and Politico reporters from White House grounds. Mamdani said he considered it important for those organizations, along with other media outlets, to be permitted to cover Monday’s event at Gracie Mansion. Trump defended his decision to restrict the outlets’ White House access, arguing that their reporting has been unfair. “It’s interesting because they said they were gonna boycott me. But they never boycott me,” the president said, before adding, “I think that these outlets have an obligation to be fair.” CNN, MS NOW and Politico filed suit against the Trump administration Monday over their removal from the White House, arguing that the decision violates their First Amendment and due-process rights. The White House has countered that the First Amendment protects the outlets’ right to publish but does not guarantee reporters physical access to the White House complex. READ MORE👉👉 --- 📲 Join the Matzav.com WhatsApp Family! 🗞️

*Trump and Mamdani Talk Housing, Affordability in Hourlong Gracie Mansion Meeting During U.N. Week* “I have a lot of meetings right now, very important meetings with heads of different countries, but this is like a little bit of old home week for me,” Trump said, adding, “We’ve done so many things from the beautiful home or house or building standing right behind me.” Housing emerged as one of the central subjects of Monday’s discussion. Trump and Mamdani said they spoke about plans for a large-scale development in Queens as well as broader efforts to reduce the cost of living for working-class New Yorkers. More specifically, the discussion included the long-debated proposal to build over Sunnyside Yard in western Queens. The massive rail yard has for years been eyed as a potential site for a new neighborhood, and Trump and Mamdani said Monday that discussions over a plan involving approximately 12,000 homes were moving forward. The project has been estimated to cost roughly $21 billion and would face substantial engineering, financing and approval hurdles before construction could begin. Housing has been a central focus of Mamdani’s first year at City Hall. His administration says New York City financed the creation or preservation of 12,491 affordable homes during the first six months of 2026, while his first city budget included a planned $22 billion in affordable-housing capital investment over five years. Monday’s meeting continued a relationship that has attracted attention because of the substantial ideological differences between the Republican President and the democratic socialist mayor. Their first meeting came at the White House shortly after Mamdani won the 2025 mayoral election. The encounter was considerably more cordial than the public exchanges that had characterized the campaign, during which the two repeatedly criticized each other. At the White House meeting, both emphasized areas where federal and city officials might cooperate on issues affecting New Yorkers. Mamdani returned to Washington in February for another meeting with Trump. During that visit, he presented the President with a mock New York Daily News front page reading “Trump to City: Let’s Build,” a play on the newspaper’s famous 1975 “Ford to City: Drop Dead” headline. Mamdani used the meeting to press for federal cooperation on housing development in New York. Both men acknowledged Monday that those cooperative discussions have not erased their significant disagreements on other issues. One such disagreement surfaced during the post-meeting press conference when Mamdani was asked about Trump’s decision to bar CNN, MS NOW and Politico reporters from White House grounds. Mamdani said he considered it important for those organizations, along with other media outlets, to be permitted to cover Monday’s event at Gracie Mansion. Trump defended his decision to restrict the outlets’ White House access, arguing that their reporting has been unfair. “It’s interesting because they said they were gonna boycott me. But they never boycott me,” the president said, before adding, “I think that these outlets have an obligation to be fair.” CNN, MS NOW and Politico filed suit against the Trump administration Monday over their removal from the White House, arguing that the decision violates their First Amendment and due-process rights. The White House has countered that the First Amendment protects the outlets’ right to publish but does not guarantee reporters physical access to the White House complex. *READ MORE*👉👉 https://matzav.com/trump-and-mamdani-talk-housing-affordability-in-hourlong-gracie-mansion-meeting-during-u-n-week/ --- 📲 *Join the Matzav.com WhatsApp Family!* 🗞️ https://wa.link/8bhhfl

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