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Inside Mamdani and Trump's meeting on Thursday
President Trump and Mayor Mamdani apparently discussed housing in Sunnyside Queens.
QUEENS - Last week, in a secret meeting at the White House, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani pitched President Donald Trump on what he called a once in a generation housing investment that would transform Sunnyside Yard in Queens into a new neighborhood with 12,000 affordable homes.
What we know:
At the center of the proposal is a plan to build a massive deck over the 180 acre rail yard, the busiest in North America, creating new land for housing, schools and public space. Mamdani is seeking more than $21 billion in federal grants to make it happen.
NEW YORK, USA - APRIL 09: A view of Manhattan and Long Island City from Sunnyside during sunset in New York, United States on April 9, 2025. (Photo by Selcuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images)
"New York City is facing a generational affordability challenge," Mamdani said after the meeting. "Working families are being priced out of the neighborhoods they built. To meet this moment, we need a true federal partner prepared to invest boldly and act urgently."
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 on February 27, 2024. (Photo by Charly TRIBALLEAU / AFP) (Photo by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP via …
The mayor told the president the project would result in "more housing in any single project than our city has seen since 1973."
According to 6sqft, a master plan released by the city’s Economic Development Corporation in 2020 called for a $14.4 billion deck over roughly 80 percent of Sunnyside Yard.
Largest affordable housing development in 40 years
A train travels along the Honeywell Street Bridge and elevated subway bridge that crosses the Sunnyside Yards in Long Island City, Queens, New York City, New York, April 1977. (Photo by Jack Boucher/HAER/Library of Congress/Interim Archives/Getty Ima …
Why you should care:
The platform would allow for 12,000 affordable apartments, split evenly between rentals for very low and extremely low income families and Mitchell Lama style homeownership units. If completed, it would be the largest affordable housing development built in New York City since Co-op City opened in the Bronx in 1973.
The broader plan envisions 60 acres of new public space, 10 to 12 new schools, public libraries, child care centers and health care facilities, effectively creating an entirely new mixed-use community above active train tracks.
NEW YORK, USA - APRIL 09: A view of Manhattan and Long Island City from Sunnyside during sunset in New York, United States on April 9, 2025. (Photo by Selcuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Sunnyside Yard is owned and operated by Amtrak and serves as a critical rail hub, with roughly 780 trains running through it daily along the Northeast Corridor and the Long Island Rail Road Main Line, as well as routes used by NJ Transit, according to 6sqft.
What's next:
Because the site is federally controlled, any redevelopment would require federal approval.
In a press release following the Oval Office meeting, Mamdani said he "underscored the city’s commitment to transparency, fiscal responsibility and collaboration in deploying federal funds, ensuring every dollar delivers safe, affordable housing for New Yorkers."
He added that "both parties agreed to continue discussions" in the weeks ahead.
The Source: This report is based on information from from Mayor Mamdani.