Mayor Zohran Mamdani and President Donald Trump talk immigration, housing at Gracie Mansion sit-down

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani pushed President Donald Trump to extend protections for Haitian immigrants during an hourlong meeting in Manhattan on Monday and said the two agreed to talk again about plans to build a massive housing project over the Sunnyside train yard in Queens.

The sit-down at Gracie Mansion marked the third in-person meeting between two elected officials with very different political philosophies, but they have developed a seemingly cordial relationship, even as Republicans have attacked the mayor and other democratic socialists as “communists” who are too extreme for American voters.

“I want what’s good for New York,” Trump said during a joint news conference after the meeting. “I want what’s good for the country. I want him to be a great mayor.”

In July, the Trump administration revoked Haitians’ temporary protected status, which allows foreign nationals to live and work in the United States without fear of deportation when conditions in their home nations are considered too dangerous for them to return. Haiti has suffered through a surge of gang violence in recent years.

Mamdani said he told Trump that Haitian New Yorkers are vital to the city’s healthcare institutions, hospitality industry and other important sectors.

“I shared my very strong opinions about how we can keep New Yorkers safe, how we can keep working New Yorkers safe, and how important immigrant New Yorkers, and especially Haitian New Yorkers are, not only for the fabric of the city, but also to our city’s economy,” Mamdani said.

Trump acknowledged that Mamdani had raised the issue, saying “the mayor feels very strongly about it,” but offered no indication that Monday’s conversation would sway federal policy.

“I feel strongly about taking care of people,” Trump said.

Mamdani said he and the president also discussed holding meetings between his housing and operations team and White House officials to discuss the Sunnyside housing project.

The mayor said the project would create a new neighborhood over the Sunnyside train yard as well as 12,000 new units of housing and 30,000 jobs. The discussions, Mamdani said, would focus on securing federal funding for the project, and approval to build a platform that would serve at the foundation of the new community.

Trump and Mamdani first discussed the Sunnyside plan when they met in February at the White House. Trump acknowledged Monday that the project would require billions of dollars in financial support from the federal government.

The president did not commit to funding or approval, but said he was involved in many projects as a real estate developer to provide housing to low- and moderate-income people.

“I would think that Sunnyside would have to have a component, a pretty substantial component, a component of just that,” Trump said. “So yeah, we discussed that.”

Trump defended his decision to ban CNN, MS Now and Politico from the White House, denying that it was an attempt to divert voters’ attention from the war with Iran and high gas prices. He said the media organizations’ coverage of his administration has been consistently negative.

“I think these outlets have an obligation to be fair,” Trump said. “And if they are fake news, I really think I have an obligation not to allow them into another very special house. This is a special house, Gracie Mansion. Well, the White House is the most special of all houses.”

Newsday's Nicholas Grasso contributed to this story.