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Mamdani gets props from de Blasio on managing Trump: ‘That might actually work’
By
Brigid Bergin
Published Mar 17, 2026
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Joanna Graham/Mayoral Photography Office
By
Brigid Bergin
Published Mar 17, 2026
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New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s pitch to President Donald Trump for a historic federal investment in a Sunnyside housing project won the admiration of a frequent White House adversary: former Mayor Bill de Blasio.
De Blasio said in an interview that he would have never thought to appeal to Trump in that way. On his second visit to the Oval Office, Mamdani delivered the president a mock New York Daily News front page featuring the headline “Trump to City: Let’s Build.”
“ I think it was just perfect to go down there and promote something that would capture Trump's imagination and do it in a fashion that was just hokey enough to appeal to Trump and that might actually work,” de Blasio said. “I, in a million years, would never have thought to go to Donald Trump with this.”
De Blasio’s comments underscore the adversarial dynamic that defined his own relationship with Trump and how that contrasts with Mamdani’s ability, so far, to engage effectively with the White House. That’s a shift that has major implications for New York City beyond resuscitating the Sunnyside housing project de Blasio first proposed.
“I think Mamdani is a particular person who could approach Trump in a way that I probably wouldn't have been able to,” said de Blasio, who like Mamdani campaigned on a commitment to make the city more affordable.
De Blasio first proposed decking over the Sunnyside railyards and building 12,000 units of affordable housing in his 2015 State of the City address. He said in the very beginning, there was tremendous interest from Amtrak, which owns the yard.
“That was one of the things that gave us hope,” de Blasio said.
But the proposal encountered roadblocks, including opposition from state and local elected officials and community members. That opposition hardened after the community fought a proposal to build an Amazon headquarters in Queens. The city’s Economic Development Corporation released its $14 billion masterplan for the project in early 2020. The COVID pandemic soon slammed the brakes on everything but essential activity.
De Blasio’s fraught relationship with Trump did not help matters.
The former mayor said he believed Trump resented losing his hometown's vote so badly in the 2016 election. Now, he said Mamdani is offering the unpopular president a way to leave a legacy here in the city.
“I would not fault Mamdani one bit if he really bought Trump into it and even gave him naming rights [for Sunnyside] or whatever it took,” de Blasio said. “Because if that's what kept the money flowing after Trump, we'll take the win and we'll take the material impact for people.”
De Blasio said if Mamdani can lock in a federal appropriation by playing to the president’s ego, he should do it.
A photo released by City Hall following the meeting between Mayor Mamdani and President Trump.
NYC Mayor's Office
When asked about the status of conversations with local and federal officials, City Hall pointed to the mayor’s comments about the project last month, when he told reporters that his administration has held some initial conversations with other elected officials and labor organizers. But Mamdani said the city was just at the beginning of this process.
“The city cannot build on these rail yards without the approval and direction of the federal government,” Mamdani said last month. “It will also require the federal government shifting a few policies as it pertains to bond caps and risk sharing, all of which are impossible for the city to do on its own.”
Politicians representing Queens gave the revived project a chilly reception, saying details still needed to be worked out.
De Blasio said he was confident that Mamdani would not compromise on key policy issues where he might disagree with the president in order to get this project done. He said Mamdani has been clear about his opposition to the war with Iran, the strikes in Venezuela and Trump’s immigration crackdown.
“If Trump said, ‘Let's no longer have compassionate policies towards immigrants in exchange for Sunnyside Yards,’ the answer would obviously be no,” de Blasio said. But if Trump wanted to claim he was “the greatest builder in the history of New York City, and he made Robert Moses look small,” de Blasio said Mamdani should let him as long as the housing gets built.
Overall, de Blasio gave Mamdani high marks for his first 10 weeks in office. He cited Mamdani's working relationship with Gov. Kathy Hochul, which allowed them to jointly announce an expansion of child care and hiring of strong talent, several of whom are de Blasio administration alums. De Blasio acknowledged “a few bumps during the snowstorms,” but said Mamdani’s team was performing well overall.
De Blasio called Mamdani’s management of Trump “a major subplot.”
“He's kept Trump out of New York City's business, which is a huge achievement, and actually created a scenario where Trump might be helpful,” said de Blasio. “He’s got a good batting average so far.”
Tagged
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queens
Brigid Bergin
Brigid Bergin is an award-winning senior reporter on the People and Power desk. She is fiercely committed to telling stories that help people engage and support democracy. In 2022, she hosted a live, ten-week call-in politics show ahead of the midterm elections called The People's Guide to Power. Brigid's reporting in 2017 included some of the first coverage of a political newcomer now known as AOC. In 2016, she broke the news of a voter purge in Brooklyn just days before New York’s presidential primary, triggering city, state and federal investigations. Brigid also guest hosts The Brian Lehrer Show and All Of It. She graduated from the University at Albany and the CUNY Newmark School of Journalism. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or Signal 917-723-4719.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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