Mamdani pitched Trump on building massive housing development in Sunnyside, Queens

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Thursday pitched President Donald Trump on a plan to build 12,000 units of housing over the Sunnyside Yards in Western Queens, according to senior city housing official Cea Weaver and three other people who were briefed on the Mamdani administration's plans but not authorized to speak publicly.

The pitch came during an unscheduled Oval Office meeting. While they are ideological opposites, the Republican president and democratic socialist mayor have enjoyed an unexpected bonhomie since Mamdani's election last year. Trump, a Queens native, lived in New York City for most of his life.

Weaver, director of the Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants, said the project could deliver thousands of units of affordable housing, while bridging sections of Western Queens separated by the railyard.

“It's a barrier between some of the most diverse neighborhoods in Queens,” Weaver said. “And so I think it's important that we're able to connect neighborhoods.”

But she said the city can’t handle the massive project on its own.

“It's extraordinarily expensive, and we need federal support in order to be able to do it.”