Gothamist, Jimmy Vielkind, David Brand, Brigid Bergin, Clayton Guse, Feb 26, 2026

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Thursday pitched President Donald Trump on a plan to build 12,000 units of housing over Sunnyside Yard 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.

In a statement Thursday evening, the mayor’s office said Mamdani is seeking more than $21 billion in federal grants to build a platform over the rail yard, which it described as the world’s largest deck, to construct 12,000 affordable homes. The administration said 6,000 of those units would follow a Mitchell-Lama-style model.

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.”

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.

The mayor’s office did not explain the difference between that estimate and the new $21 billion federal funding request.

The statement also said the new proposal would create 30,000 union jobs and include parks, schools and health care clinics. Both sides agreed to continue discussions in the coming weeks.

Weaver said the city would not necessarily rely on the plan issued by the de Blasio administration nearly six years ago.

“We’re looking to take a fresh look at the project and make sure it delivers for the things that New Yorkers really need,” she said.

Rea More: Gothamist