New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani brought a slice of media history to the White House on Thursday. He presented US President Donald Trump with a mock front page of the New York Daily News.
The staged cover read, “Trump to City: Let’s Build.” It echoed the paper’s famous 1975 headline, “Ford to City: Drop Dead.” That headline followed President Gerald Ford’s refusal to aid a near-bankrupt New York City.
Unlike 1975, Mamdani’s mock-up imagined federal backing. It featured Trump’s photo with the line, “Backs new era of housing.” A photo from the Oval Office showed Trump smiling as he held both front pages.
The meeting focused on a $21 billion federal funding proposal. Mamdani wants to build a massive platform deck over Sunnyside Yard in Queens. The 180-acre rail hub could support up to 12,000 affordable homes. Plans also include parks, schools, and health clinics.
The New York City Economic Development Corporation has long discussed redeveloping the site. City Hall estimates the project could create 30,000 union jobs. Officials call it the city’s largest housing investment in over 50 years.
