ReportTrump and Mamdani Talk 12,000 Homes at Gracie Mansion — No Deal YetAired September 23, 2026 at 6:04 AM UTCWritten September 23, 2026 at 6:07 AM UTCRead the write-upThis storyTranscript · LOADING0:1112,000 affordable homes would rise above an active Queens rail yard.0:15That decked-over neighborhood could house working-class New Yorkers priced out of0:18rents while Haitian families face loss of protection and work authorization, and0:22residents judge cordial handshakes by whether rents fall and streets feel safe.0:26Can an hour of cordial talk between City Hall and the White House turn into homes,0:30federal money, and open access?0:31They sat about an hour behind closed doors in the yellow parlor at Gracie Mansion in0:36Manhattan, then walked out together for an unscheduled joint appearance on the lawn.0:40It was their third face-to-face sit-down and their first on New York soil, friendly0:44and cordial despite sharp policy differences.0:47The session came at Mom Donnie's invitation while Trump was in New York for the 81st0:52United Nations General Assembly, with Chiefs of Staff Susie Wiles and El Bisgard0:56Church in the room.0:57The core item was Sunnyside Yard, a plan to deck over the 180-acre rail yard in1:02western Queens, served by Amtrak, Long Island Railroad, and New Jersey Transit, and1:07build an entire new neighborhood.1:10The scope carried into the meeting was 12,000 new rental units plus schools and1:13retail space, framed as 100% affordable with emphasis on the lowest incomes1:18including New Yorkers earning less than $50,000 a year, alongside a regional rail1:22hub and new parks and open space and a transit-first model described as the largest1:25affordable housing development in the city since 1973.1:28The site history runs from Amtrak approaching the city in 2014 after a1:33once-in-a-century yard upgrade, to a February 2017 feasibility study that examined1:38up to 24,000 residential units, to a March 3-4, 2020 City Amtrak master plan fixing1:44on 12,000 affordable apartments, to MAM Donnie reviving the pitch at the White House1:48in February, March 2026, where Trump had once imagined a football stadium.1:52The research excerpts behind that history call the units affordable homes or1:56apartments without confirming a rental versus ownership breakdown and without2:00specifying square footage or facilities for the schools and retail portions beyond2:04their inclusion.2:05At Gracie Mansion, Mam Donnie said the two agreed to set up a new level of2:09conversation between City Hall housing and operations officials and the White House.2:12Trump called Sunnyside a big job he had watched for decades and pointed to federal2:16approvals and probably some federal money.2:18No binding deal was announced, no new project details were announced and no federal2:22funding commitment was secured.2:23Mamdani said the development has a significant way to go while remaining still on2:27the table.2:28A $21 billion federal grant figure was part of earlier White House pitches, not a2:33new signed commitment, with discussion of about 30,000 jobs attached to build out.2:44Trump said Mamdani has great potential and added, hopefully you're going to be a2:48great one.2:48Immigration and policing were named as part of a wide-ranging agenda and remained2:52contested without a detailed joint announcement.2:54Mamdani made temporary protected status for Haitians a priority, calling Haitians2:59critical to the city against the administration's stripping of status in a broader3:03context of immigrant safety and enforcement, including prior Operation Rotten Apple3:07arrests.3:08The sharpest open conflict came on the lawn over who gets into the room.3:12Mamdani said he told Trump all members of the press would be on the lawn.3:16And that is something that he believes in that he believes in engaging all views.3:20Trump answered that boycott threats do not worry him.3:23saying they never boycott me and pointing to the assembled cameras.3:26He said he won in a landslide, has settled eight wars, presided over the best3:30economic numbers in the history of the country, and has 21 trillion dollars pouring3:34in compared with a prior high of three.3:36He said, if you look at CNN, that's fake news, said he does not know what MS now is3:41and guessed it was the former MSNBC or MSDNC, and said biased or fake news outlets3:46have an obligation to be fair, and that he has an obligation to keep fake news out3:49of another very special house, and the White House is bad for the country and3:53national security.3:54Those landslide, wars settled, and investment figures were presented as his claims3:58and were immediately contested.4:00No housing term sheet, funding path, construction schedule, or breakdown of schools4:04and retail beyond their inclusion was produced.4:07No TPS reversal, public safety compact, or common midterm account was produced, and4:12which outlets threatened a boycott and whether any press was actually excluded was4:16not settled, leaving continued talks between housing officials as the only concrete4:20next step.Explore with HeyDexFollow via RSSThe shortThe short ↗