Mayor Mamdani Holds Press Availability at Gracie Mansion
Zohran Mamdani on NYC Mayor's Office.
Passages
Good afternoon, everyone. This afternoon, President Trump and I met at Gracie Mansion to discuss the city we both are so fortunate to serve, New York City. Each time the president and I speak, it is about the same topics, how to improve the lives of New Yorkers and how to use the power of government to take on the cost of living crisis, to grow our economy, and to build a better, stronger New York. Each day, millions of New Yorkers struggle to get by in a city where a decent life costs too much, where a future of possibility and prosperity feels forever just one paycheck out of reach, where dignity is not accorded to all, but only afforded by some. I have said time and again that I will work with anyone, no matter what party they belong to, no matter how much you may disagree on other topics, whoever has the power and the will to lift that weight off New Yorkers' backs. At a time where hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers are asking the questions of how they can afford this city, I appreciate the conversation the president and I have had on the subject of how we can make it easier to afford life in this great city that we call our home. With that, we will take questions just before if the president, if you want to add any remarks.
SPEAKER_13You know, one of the focuses of the conversation the president and I have been having is about the possibility of building more housing here in New York City. We've spoken about Sunnyside Yard. And it's a real pleasure that just today we've agreed to set up a new level of that conversation between our housing and operations team at City Hall and the White House team, because what we're speaking about is 12,000 homes, 30,000 jobs, the prospect of an entire new neighborhood in a city where housing is the number one cost. And I appreciate the president, his interest in this. And we also know the president not just as the leader of the country, but also as someone who has built quite a lot of housing here in our city. I don't know, Mr. President, you want to add anything?
SPEAKER_13We appreciate the president's commitment to the city. And today, you know, the president shared many of his memories of having been to Gracie Mansion before, having been out here as well on the lawn. And we appreciated the conversation of how we can work together to deliver a lower cost of living for New Yorkers.
SPEAKER_13You know, I told the president that we're going to have all of the members of the press here on the lawn, and that is something that I believe in, as everyone, no matter the opinion or the critique that we engage. And I don't know, Mr. President.
SPEAKER_13Sorry, just before you go, the president is saying he can answer a couple more questions.
SPEAKER_13You know, I'll leave it to New Yorkers on your first question to make their judgments. On your second question, as the president said, I shared my very strong opinions about how we can keep New Yorkers safe, how we can keep immigrant New Yorkers safe, and how important immigrant New Yorkers, especially Haitian New Yorkers, are not only to the fabric of our city but also to our city's economy, to so many of the industries that build our city, and the stability that is in the president's hands. And I appreciate the conversation that we had and the consideration to that end. And you had your third question for the president.
SPEAKER_13Good to see you yell without the mic, no matter who it's for.
SPEAKER_13So I appreciated the conversation. It was a productive conversation. Stephen Miller was not a part of the conversation. It was myself, the president, Suzy Wiles, my chief of staff, L. Bisgard Church. And the—what I made the case about is just how critical this is to so many New Yorkers and how I hear about this not just from those New Yorkers, not just from their families, but also from their pastors, from developers, from executives in health care and hospitality. Especially when we're talking about Haitian New Yorkers, we are talking about one of the most critical communities in our city. And when we're talking about the status, we're talking about something that can either deliver or deny stability in their lives and the lives of those who love them. And so I made very clear this is a priority for me, a priority for our city, and I appreciated the consideration.
SPEAKER_13We had a wide-ranging conversation. It extended from a conversation around the importance of our police department. It went to TPS. It also extended to Sunnyside Yard. And to the first part of your question, I appreciated not only having that conversation with the president, making the case on behalf of New Yorkers, the president also has many memories of Gracie Mansion. He's been here a number of times. I shared with the president also that I recently learned that he actually got married in the Blue Room at City Hall, which is where many of us spend a lot of our time with press conferences and Q&As. And with the president sharing the historic nature of this building, not only as it has been home to mayors since Fira LaGuardia, but also that it has so much of the history of this country. There's a cannonball from the Revolutionary War. There's a fireplace from the residence where Aaron Burr died after his duel with Alexander Hamilton. So that is all a part of this building as well.
SPEAKER_13We are sincerely concerned. interested and committed to this as an idea, which is why it's been the focus of the conversations I've had with the president, not only in this meeting, but also in the prior meeting at the White House. And again, what we're talking about is something very rare in our city. It's the possibility of constructing an entirely new neighborhood. And again, it's only possible with federal partnership because of not only the scale of funding required, but also the authorization in constructing a platform that would then serve as the foundation for about 12,000 homes, about 30,000 jobs. And it would be transformative, not only in terms of working people who could create this, but also and be paid enough to be able to afford to live in the city, but also working people who could actually live in a neighborhood that today is a train yard.
SPEAKER_13Look, I think the... I said this in my opening remarks that 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. And in the previous meetings I've had with President Trump, we've been able to secure the release of a New York City college student who had been detained by ICE. We've been able to move forward what has been a longstanding dream about the construction of Sunnyside Yard. And we know we have significant way to go, but these meetings do truly assist in that path. And to me, the question always is, how can we deliver for the city? How can we deliver for the people of the city? And 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. And to the first question, This was part of a conversation I was having with the president, and I invited the president to come to Gracie Mansion. And he had also remarked to me in prior conversations about how much—how many memories he has of this as a home for prior mayors. And I thought it would be a good location for a continuation of the conversation of how to deliver for the people who are being priced out of the city. Mr. Anuta.
SPEAKER_13So the conversations have been continuing about this project. What today we made an agreement on was that the conversation would now be elevated to a place where it's going to also be technical between our housing teams, our operations teams and the White House. And that is critically important because, as you heard earlier from the question from Crain's, Yes, there's an aspect of this that is about financing. There's also an aspect of this about technical and legal authorization of the construction of a platform. That's what this kind of a conversation facilitates.
SPEAKER_13You know, the president and I have both been very frank about the many disagreements that we have. And immigration is one of those places. We've both spoken about very different approaches, very different beliefs. And I will continue to have conversations with the president and, frankly, with anyone who can deliver relief to the people of this city. And to me, you know, in the past meeting, At the meeting, we spoke about Sunnyside Yard. We introduced that conversation. Thirty minutes after the last meeting, he called me to let me know that the list of students that we had put forward to him, that he was going to release one of them. Soon after that, he released another one of them. And, frankly, if a meeting can be the difference between detention and dignity, it's a meeting worth taking, all while being honest about the disagreements that we do have.
SPEAKER_13
Every passage above is taken from this recording: NYC Mayor's Office, Mayor Mamdani Holds Press Availability at Gracie Mansion.