Trump, Mamdani meet ahead of UN General Assembly

US President Donald Trump and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani met at Gracie Mansion on Monday, using Trump’s visit to New York for the United Nations General Assembly to discuss housing, affordability and other issues affecting the city.

The meeting was the third face-to-face encounter between the two and the first to take place in New York. Their previous meetings were held at the White House, including one in February focused in part on housing development.

Mamdani said after the meeting that they discussed ways to reduce the cost of living for New Yorkers and expand housing construction. A central focus was the proposed redevelopment of Sunnyside Yards in Queens, a major rail-yard project that Mamdani said could create around 12,000 homes and 30,000 jobs.

Mamdani said City Hall and the White House had agreed to establish a new level of coordination between their housing and operations teams on the project.

Trump said Sunnyside Yards had been discussed for decades and would likely require federal approvals and funding. He also said a substantial portion of any development should include low- and moderate-income housing.

The meeting took place at a politically significant moment, with Trump in New York for a series of diplomatic engagements surrounding the UN General Assembly. Trump is scheduled to address the assembly on Tuesday and is expected to hold meetings with several foreign leaders during his visit.

At a news conference following the meeting, Trump said he hoped Mamdani would become a “great mayor,” despite the sharp political differences between the two men. Mamdani, for his part, said he would leave it to New Yorkers to judge his performance.

Trump also addressed questions about restrictions on several news organizations’ access to the White House, saying he believed the outlets had an obligation to be fair. Mamdani said he supported having members of the press present at Gracie Mansion regardless of their opinions or criticism.