President Donald Trump joins the record of New York Metropolis builders who see widespread floor with Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani with regards to housing.
Trump mentioned on Friday that he was shocked by how a lot he agreed with the democratic socialist, particularly when it got here to problems with affordability.
“He needs to see no crime, he needs to see housing being constructed, he needs to see rents coming down. All issues that I agree with,” Trump informed reporters during a joint media briefing on Friday.
Mamdani met with Trump in Washington, D.C., on Friday, after which the 2 fielded questions from reporters within the Oval Workplace.
It appears Mamdani was in a position to faucet into a problem core to Trump’s persona: New York Metropolis growth. The president mentioned one of many issues he gleaned from their assembly was that Mamdani agreed that the way in which to drive down rents is to construct extra housing. The president mentioned this hadn’t been clear to him, primarily based on media stories. He was presumably referring to Mamdani’s pledge to freeze rents for stabilized tenants for 4 years. The mayor-elect has additionally mentioned he needs to construct 200,000 residences within the subsequent decade.
“He’d wish to see them come down, ideally, by constructing quite a lot of further housing,” Trump mentioned. “That’s the final word manner. He agrees with that, and so do I.”
The 2 would presumably not see eye to eye on zoning reform. The Trump administration rolled again Obama-era guidelines that required native governments that obtain federal funds to deal with discriminatory housing insurance policies, together with zoning guidelines which have strengthened segregation. He has additionally decried forcing suburbs to welcome low-income housing into their neighborhoods.
Mamdani mentioned the 2 additionally mentioned the necessity for housing rules to be manageable and never additional delay building. When requested about feedback he made about wanting to lift taxes on “richer, whiter neighborhoods,” Mamdani pushed again on the reporter’s characterization of the phrase as “race-based property taxes,” saying that this was referring to the make-up of neighborhoods, not an expression of intent.
“We intend to create a good property tax system as a result of we wish a New York Metropolis that isn’t solely honest and equitable, but additionally one that each New Yorker can afford,” the mayor-elect mentioned.
The 2 displayed a shocking quantity of heat towards one another, on condition that Trump has referred to Mamdani as a “communist lunatic” and stoked fears that he would deploy Nationwide Guard officers within the metropolis. Mamdani has additionally not been shy about criticizing the president. Throughout his victory speech this month, Mamdani addressed Trump straight and mentioned the town may present the remainder of the nation how you can defeat him.
However Trump mentioned he needs to assist New York Metropolis and mentioned he would really feel comfy residing beneath a Mamdani administration.
“I believe you’re going to have, hopefully, a very nice mayor,” Trump mentioned. “I anticipate to be serving to him, not hurting him.”
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