By The Epoch Times | Created at 2026-09-22 00:21:49 | Updated at 2026-09-22 01:09:42
1 hour ago
President Donald Trump met with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Sept. 21 at the mayor’s official residence to discuss an affordable housing project and other cost-of-living issues while visiting the city the day before the U.N. General Assembly.
The visit marked the first time a sitting U.S. president visited Gracie Mansion in 45 years.
“I love New York, and this represents New York,” Trump said. “It’s very nice inside—beautifully kept. It’s a very representative place of New York. Very important place.”
The last sitting president to visit Gracie Mansion was former President Ronald Reagan in 1981, when he visited Mayor Ed Koch to present him with a novelty check for the Westway project, a controversial $2.1 billion plan in the 1970s to rebuild the West Side Highway.
Other presidents to visit the mansion were Jimmy Carter, John F. Kennedy, and Harry Truman.
The two agreed to set up meetings between the city’s housing and operation team and the White House team, Mamdani said.
The mayor said he and his team appreciated the president’s commitment to the city and their conversation about how they can work together to “deliver a lower cost of living for New Yorkers.”
One of the main topics of discussion Monday was an affordable housing project called Sunnyside Yard.
“I appreciate the president, his interest in this, and we also know the president not just as the leader of the country, but also as someone who has built quite a lot of housing here in our city,” Mamdani said.
In 2014, Amtrak completed a master plan with the city to jointly upgrade Sunnyside Yard. The yard serves Amtrak, the Long Island Rail Road, and New Jersey Transit.
The proposed plan includes about 12,000 new residential units, including low-income rentals and home-ownership opportunities, open spaces, parks, schools, retail, and community facilities.
Mamdani said he asked the president for $21 billion in federal grants to advance the project during his first meeting with Trump in February. The yard is owned and operated by Amtrak, which means federal approval for the project is required.
Subway trains of New Jersey Transit Rail Operations, which operates in New Jersey, are seen in the Sunnyside railroad yard in the Queens borough of New York City on Feb. 27, 2024. Charly Triballeau/AFP via Getty Images
Trump said Sunnyside was a “big job” but he was familiar with the concept as a former builder of low-income and moderate-income buildings in the city.
“I’ve been watching that for 35 years,” Trump said. “Everybody’s wanted to do something with Sunnyside Yards.”
The president noted the city would likely need federal approvals and federal funding for the project, but it was a “great location.”
“I owned a building in Sunnyside,” Trump added.
During the meeting, Trump was asked by a reporter about his decision to restrict some members of the press from White House press conferences.
An MS NOW reporter asked if the president “banned outlets like MS NOW, CNN, and Politico in order to distract from the Iran War and high gas prices.”
Trump responded, saying he had an obligation not to allow them into the White House if they published “fake news” about the war and other accomplishments of his administration.
President Trump cuts the ribbon at the official opening of the new White House Helipad in Washington on Sept. 21, 2026. Screenshot via YouTube/The White House
“I think these outlets have an obligation to be fair,” Trump said. “They’re very bad for the country, very bad for national security. So I have that obligation. So, we’ll see how it works out.”
Trump, who has been critical of Mamdani, the city’s first elected democratic socialist mayor, shared complimentary thoughts after meeting with him, saying he had “great potential.”
“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.”
