New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani asked U.S. President Donald Trump to boost federal investment in affordable housing during their meeting this Thursday in Washington. If realized, it would be the largest such investment in the city in over five decades, according to his team.
According to a mayoral statement, the proposal represents an "unprecedented opportunity to address the housing crisis" in the most populous city in the U.S. To carry it out, more than $21 billion in federal subsidies are needed. The project plans to build 12,000 new affordable homes in the Sunnyside Yard area in Queens, the busiest rail yard in the Big Apple.
During the meeting, the young progressive mayor presented Trump with the project to revitalize the area, which the mayor's office says is "especially attractive for housing and large-scale infrastructure development projects" due to its proximity to Manhattan. Mamdani arrived at the meeting with a mock newspaper cover featuring headlines about housing investment, with a subtitle stating "Trump delivers over 12,000 homes; the largest since 1973.", referencing the historic 1975 "Ford to the City: Drop Dead" cover by the New York Daily News during the city's fiscal crisis.
The New York mayor shared a photo of the meeting on social media, and according to his team, Trump was "very enthusiastic" about the proposal, which also envisions generating 30,000 jobs and creating new parks, schools, and healthcare centers in Sunnyside Yard. The unannounced meeting reflected the apparently cordial relationship the two maintain despite their marked political differences. During his campaign for Mayor last year, Trump harshly criticized Mamdani, whom he called a "lunatic communist," but after his election, the two New Yorkers met for the first time in a Washington encounter that marked the start of a so far pragmatic relationship.
In addition to housing investment, Mamdani raised other issues with Trump, such as the release of Columbia University student Elaina Aghayeva, who was detained by immigration agents. According to the mayor, the president assured him that the young woman would be released "imminently," which happened a few hours later.
