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 two 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.
The idea for housing on the site was first floated under former Mayor Bill de Blasio, but stalled under Mamdani’s predecessor Eric Adams. In March 2020, officials at the city Economic Development Commission estimated the project to construct a platform and thousands of new affordable units, along with offices and public space, would cost about $14 billion.
Mamdani’s spokesperson Joe Calvello told reporters that the mayor and Trump discussed a plan to build 12,000 new housing units. Calvello did not specify where the housing would be located.
“The last time the president and the mayor met, the president asked him to come back with some big ideas on how we can build things together in New York City,” Calvello said about Mamdani’s previous meeting with Trump at the White House in November. “The president was very enthusiastic about this idea.”
At one point, the mayor held up a mock Daily News front page with the headline “Trump to City: Let’s Build.” City Hall aides did not confirm whether the mayor specifically referenced Sunnyside.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
Any construction on the site would require federal approval because the Sunnyside train yards and surrounding rail infrastructure are owned by Amtrak.
The MTA in 2016 dropped previous plans for a new commuter rail station atop Sunnyside Yards, which would have been a centerpiece of a new housing development. The new station would have served Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North trains that will operate in and out of Penn Station through the MTA’s ongoing Penn Access project.
The station was initially a part of the MTA’s long-delayed East Side Access project, which wrapped in early 2023 and created a new LIRR station beneath Grand Central Terminal. The planned Sunnyside station was abandoned as the East Side Access project faced delays and cost overruns.
It’s unclear if the plan floated by Mamdani at the White House would revive the Sunnyside station plan.
This is a developing story and may be updated.