Massive Queens Development Pitched to Trump, 6 Times the Size of Hudson Yards

Mayor Zohran Mamdani met with President Trump to revive the 180-acre Sunnyside Yard affordable housing project in Long Island City.

Mar. 2, 2026 at 4:31pm

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Building a new neighborhood over a 180-acre train yard in New York City would be a massive undertaking, but that's exactly what Mayor Zohran Mamdani is proposing with the Sunnyside Yard project in Queens. Mamdani said he pitched the plan to revive the stalled affordable housing development to President Donald Trump in a closed-door meeting, seeking $21 billion in federal investment to make it a reality. If completed, the Sunnyside Yard project would be six times larger than the Hudson Yards development on Manhattan's west side.

Why it matters

The Sunnyside Yard proposal represents an ambitious effort to create more affordable housing and public space in New York City, but the scale and complexity of the project have raised doubts about its feasibility. The plan would require significant federal funding, as well as approval from landowners Amtrak and the MTA, and the surrounding community, which has previously rejected the proposal.

The details

The Sunnyside Yard project would involve building a 192-acre neighborhood over an active train yard in Long Island City, Queens, with 12,000 affordable apartments, parks, schools, and clinics. The plan was last considered in 2020, just before the COVID-19 pandemic, and has been proposed by various city leaders over the years, but has consistently faced challenges due to the high costs, engineering complexity, and community opposition.

  • The Sunnyside Yard project was last considered in 2020, just before the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Mayor Zohran Mamdani met with President Donald Trump to discuss the project in a closed-door meeting last week.

The players

Zohran Mamdani

The mayor of New York City who met with President Trump to pitch the Sunnyside Yard project.

Donald Trump

The former President of the United States who Mamdani met with to discuss the Sunnyside Yard project.

Michael Bloomberg

The former mayor of New York City who proposed building massive decks over rail yards and highways, including the Sunnyside Yard site, back in 2007.

Bill de Blasio

The former mayor of New York City who announced plans to build more than 11,000 affordable apartments on a platform over the Sunnyside Yard in 2015.

Andrew Cuomo

The former governor of New York who quickly rejected de Blasio's Sunnyside Yard plan.

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What they’re saying

“In a city where we know that land is so precious and so finite, here lies an opportunity to create more of it, by creating the largest rail deck the world has ever seen.”

— Zohran Mamdani, Mayor of New York City

“It's just so expensive. The only way you can do that is to support it with a kind of development like we have at the Hudson Yards project with vast, super-scaled office buildings. They are not going to build that kind of building in Sunnyside Yards.”

— Robert A.M. Stern, Architect

“Any proposal that reshapes Sunnyside Yards must begin with the neighbors who live here. Our community deserves a seat at the table long before anyone, including the mayor, makes headlines in the Oval Office especially for a project they have previously rejected.”

— Julie Won, New York City Councilmember

What’s next

If the Sunnyside Yard project gains President Trump's support, it will still face a long road ahead, requiring approvals from landowners Amtrak and the MTA, as well as the surrounding community, which has previously rejected the proposal.

The takeaway

The Sunnyside Yard project represents an ambitious effort to create more affordable housing and public space in New York City, but the scale, complexity, and cost of the endeavor have raised significant doubts about its feasibility. The plan's success will depend on securing substantial federal funding and overcoming community opposition and regulatory hurdles.