US President Donald Trump and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani held a roughly one-hour closed-door meeting at Gracie Mansion on Monday, discussing immigration, policing, affordability and a major proposed housing project in Queens.
The meeting was the third between Trump and Mamdani and the first in New York City, reports New York Times.
Their previous meetings took place at the White House.
The two appeared together after the meeting for an unscheduled joint news conference, where they maintained a cordial tone despite their sharp political differences.
Trump reiterated that he hoped Mamdani would be a “great mayor”, while Mamdani said he was prepared to work with anyone who could help New Yorkers.
Mamdani, a democratic socialist, and Trump have been on opposite sides of many political issues. Trump and other Republicans have repeatedly criticised left-wing candidates, while Mamdani sharply attacked Trump during last year’s mayoral campaign.
Trump, a native of New York, described his visit to Gracie Mansion as a kind of homecoming.
The meeting also highlighted their differences over the media. Mamdani stood silently as Trump criticised media organisations as “fake news” and defended his decision to bar CNN, Politico and MS NOW from the White House grounds.
Asked whether he had challenged Trump over the media ban, Mamdani said he had told Trump that all members of the media would be allowed on the mansion lawn for the news conference.
Trump, answering the same question, said he had “an obligation” to ostracise journalists whom he believes do not give him adequate credit for his achievements.
Mamdani said he had invited Trump to Gracie Mansion during a private conversation some time ago. He said he wanted to use the meeting to advance his affordability agenda.
The two met in the mansion’s Yellow Parlor, which features Federal-era cabinetry and an unlit fireplace. Trump’s Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, and Mamdani’s top Adviser Elle Bisgaard-Church, also attended.
Mamdani described the discussion as “wide-ranging”. He said the two leaders discussed policing, immigration and a possible large-scale affordable housing project in Queens.
The proposed project would involve building 12,000 housing units above a multibillion-dollar platform over Sunnyside Yard. Mamdani first raised the proposal during his February meeting with Trump at the White House.
The project would likely require substantial federal financial support.
Mamdani said the two administrations had discussed taking the project to “the next level”, although he did not provide details about what that would mean in practical terms. Trump did not disagree.
“Sunnyside is a big job,” Trump said, adding that the idea had been under consideration for decades.
The mayor also raised the Trump administration’s immigration policies, as Immigration and Customs Enforcement has stepped up arrests in New York.
Both men said they discussed the administration’s decision to end Temporary Protected Status for Haitians. Mamdani has criticised the move, saying it could harm Haitian New Yorkers and the city’s economy.
“I shared my very strong opinions about how we can keep New Yorkers safe, how we can keep immigrant New Yorkers safe,” Mamdani said.
ICE arrested 1,576 people in New York in July, the highest monthly figure since Trump returned to the presidency last year, according to the Deportation Data Project, an academic group. The figure was nearly twice the 869 arrests recorded in April.
Trump acknowledged that Mamdani felt “very strongly” about the Temporary Protected Status issue but gave no indication that his administration would change its position.
Mamdani described the discussion as “productive” and said he had told Trump that New York’s Haitian community was an important part of the city’s economic backbone.
Donovan Richards, the Queens borough president, questioned whether the Sunnyside Yard proposal was the best way to improve housing affordability.
“I think there are so many other shovel-ready projects,” Richards said in an interview. “Queens is building. We are going through a renaissance moment.”
Referring to the project’s estimated cost, he added, “That $21 billion could be poured into the other projects in the queue.”
Mamdani defended his decision to meet Trump for the third time in less than a year.
He said he had a responsibility to speak with anyone who could help New Yorkers.
“I committed over the course of the campaign, as well as while being in office, that I would meet with anyone, work with anyone that could deliver for New Yorkers,” the mayor said.
“So having a conversation about potentially building 12,000 homes, about the importance of our Haitian neighbors here in this city, those are conversations that are worthwhile to have,” Mamdani added.
Presidential visits to Gracie Mansion are rare. Harry S Truman attended a luncheon there in 1949 during ceremonies marking the laying of the cornerstone for the United Nations headquarters.
John F Kennedy delivered a major speech on medical care for older Americans at the mansion in 1962. Ronald Reagan visited in 1981 to promote the proposed Westway project on Manhattan’s West Side.
Trump’s Monday visit was his first as president, although he had previously visited the mansion.
In 2003, he attended former Mayor Rudolph W Giuliani’s wedding there. In 2007, Trump and his wife, Melania Trump, attended a book party for Representative Charles Rangel at the mansion. Mayor Michael R Bloomberg hosted both events.
Trump’s latest visit came at Mamdani’s invitation, continuing an unusual relationship between the two men.
During last year’s mayoral campaign, they traded sharp insults, with Trump calling Mamdani a “lunatic” and Mamdani describing Trump as a “despot”.
Their tone changed during their first meeting in the Oval Office in November. Trump praised the mayor-elect and said he expected to help rather than hurt him.
When a reporter asked Mamdani whether he still considered Trump a fascist, Trump interrupted, “You could just say yes. That’s easier.”
The two most recently met in February, when Mamdani made an unannounced visit to the White House. Following that meeting, the mayor said Trump had expressed support for the Sunnyside project.
