NYC mayor secures federal housing talks and a detained student’s release in one Oval Office visit
Mayor Zohran Mamdani Lands in Washington With a Big Ask — and Bigger Results
On the morning of February 26, 2026, New York City Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani boarded a train to Washington D.C. without any public announcement. His name did not appear on the White House visitor log. His office had not issued a press advisory. The meeting — a one-on-one with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office — was first reported by The New York Times before it was confirmed by City Hall. By the time Mamdani stepped back on a northbound train that afternoon, he had secured a presidential pledge to continue discussions on the largest proposed federal investment in New York City housing in more than half a century, and he had personally secured the release of a Columbia University student detained by federal immigration agents that same morning.
The visit, which lasted approximately one hour, was the second in-person meeting between the two men since Mamdani’s election last fall. Their first encounter, in November 2025, was itself a surprise — a remarkably cordial sit-down that drew national attention given how aggressively Trump had campaigned against Mamdani, labeling him a “communist” throughout the 2025 mayoral race. Trump nonetheless called him a “nice guy” during his February 25 State of the Union address, even as he mocked a city program that pays residents to shovel snow.
The Pitch: 12,000 Homes, 30,000 Jobs, $21 Billion Ask
At the center of Thursday’s meeting was a sweeping proposal to deck over Sunnyside Yards in Queens — the busiest rail yard in North America — and build 12,000 units of affordable housing on top of it. The site, owned primarily by Amtrak, has long been eyed by city planners. A 2020 master plan developed jointly by the city’s Economic Development Corporation and Amtrak called for 12,000 homes, 60 acres of new open space, new schools, parks, and health clinics. The project had stalled under the Adams administration. Mamdani is now reviving it with a direct appeal to the federal government for more than $21 billion in grants to build the platform alone.
According to City Hall, the project — if funded — would mark the largest single housing and infrastructure investment in New York City since 1973. It would also generate an estimated 30,000 union jobs, a figure Mamdani leaned on heavily in his pitch to the president. Both parties agreed to continue discussions in the weeks ahead, though no formal commitment or funding mechanism was announced. The White House did not immediately respond to press inquiries.
To help seal the deal, Mamdani’s communications director Anna Bahr said the mayor’s team prepared a mock-up of a New York Daily News front page reading “Trump to City: Let’s Build.” It was a deliberate callback to the infamous 1975 Daily News headline “Ford to City: Drop Dead,” referencing then-President Gerald Ford’s refusal to bail out a financially collapsing New York City. Mamdani posted a photo to social media showing Trump holding both the original 1975 cover and the mock-up side by side. Trump, known to voraciously consume New York City tabloid coverage, was described by Mamdani’s press secretary Joe Calvello as “very enthusiastic” about the proposal.
A Second Ask: Free a Detained Student
But housing was not the only item on the agenda. That same morning, Elaina Aghayeva — a Columbia University senior from Azerbaijan — was detained by federal immigration agents at her campus dormitory. Columbia’s acting president said agents had misrepresented themselves as officers looking for a missing child to gain access to the building. A DHS spokesperson disputed that characterization. Attorneys for Aghayeva confirmed the access-by-deception account.
Mamdani raised the case directly with President Trump during their meeting. Shortly after Mamdani left the White House, Trump called him to confirm that Aghayeva would be released immediately. She confirmed her own release on Instagram at approximately 3:45 p.m. Mamdani also handed Chief of Staff Susie Wiles a list of four additional Columbia students held in federal immigration custody, requesting the administration’s consideration of their cases as well.
The dual-track nature of the visit — one thread about bricks and mortar, another about due process and human dignity — drew both admiration and scrutiny. Supporters praised Mamdani for using access to Trump to protect a vulnerable student. Critics questioned why the meeting was not disclosed in advance and what formal agreements, if any, were reached on housing or immigration.
A Relationship That Defies Simple Labels
Political observers across the spectrum have noted the unusual dynamic between the two leaders. Trump ran a relentless campaign against Mamdani’s election, called him a communist, and threatened to defund the city. Mamdani, a democratic socialist, called Trump’s style of governance authoritarian. Yet since taking office in January 2026, Mamdani has carefully moderated his public rhetoric toward the president, focusing instead on what he describes as a pragmatic relationship aimed at delivering for New Yorkers.
Asked repeatedly about his conversations with Trump, Mamdani has maintained privacy. “Whenever they do happen, they always focus on how to better our city,” he told reporters after the State of the Union. The WSJ and other national outlets have framed the dynamic as a product of “the power of populism” — two politicians from opposite ends of the ideological spectrum finding transaction where ideology offers none. Whether that transaction produces 12,000 affordable homes in Queens remains to be seen.
For more background on the long-stalled Sunnyside Yards project, see the NYC EDC Sunnyside Yard project page. For the mayor’s official statement on the meeting, visit the NYC Mayor’s Office press release. Analysis of the federal housing investment landscape can be found at the Urban Institute Housing Center. For national context on affordable housing policy, see the National Low Income Housing Coalition.
