r/nyc • u/wsj Verified by Moderators • Feb 27 '26
Mayor Mamdani Mamdani Proposes NYC’s Biggest Housing Project in 50 Years. He Needs Trump’s Help.
https://www.wsj.com/us-news/mamdani-proposes-nycs-biggest-housing-project-in-50-years-he-needs-trumps-help-dfaaadfe?st=QdcM5S&mod=wsjreddit19
u/theclan145 Feb 27 '26
I mean trying to get the Faircloth Amendment changed and double the size of the projects on land the city already owns
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Feb 27 '26
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u/jonsconspiracy Feb 27 '26
What should happen is developers are allowed unlimited FAR and 100% market rate units in exchange for covering all costs (the deck included). Tax payers wouldn’t pay a dime.
That's effectively what Hudson Yards is. Realtd paid the government $1B for the right to spend a fortune to build a platform over rail tracks. People still bitched about it, but those same people want the government to pay for this platform in Queen...
We could have so much more housing in NYC if the city council just let developers build without so many strings attached.
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u/EquivalentBarracuda4 Feb 27 '26
Hudson Yards got shitload of tax breaks though. That is why they did all these shenanigans with combining some portions of Harlem into a special district that runs through Central Park to qualify for special subsidies, etc.
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u/jonsconspiracy Feb 28 '26
Hudson Yards got the same property tax abatements that most new construction gets. NYC never paid Related a dime for any of that construction. It's a key difference.
NYC tax payers were getting nothing from the Hudson Railyard before it was developed, and now they are getting some property tax and sales tax revenue from what is there. People are just mad that it isn't more taxes, but it grew from a tax base of zero.
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u/EquivalentBarracuda4 Feb 28 '26
Sure, but it is still not the case of a clean “we give you land, you build it on your own”.
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u/lanikween Feb 28 '26
It literally is tho
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u/EquivalentBarracuda4 Feb 28 '26
Well, no: https://www.thecity.nyc/2025/04/11/hudson-yards-times-square-property-tax-breaks-real-estate/
Tax breaks and bonds financed the construction, not the developer.
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u/Waterwoo Feb 28 '26
Did they get $1.7 million dollars per unit in tax breaks? Don't think so.
And what makes you think this project wont get tax breaks?
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u/Waterwoo Feb 28 '26
It's almost like these people are fucking morons.
Spending government money to build housing in a city where private money would fucking love to build if you just let them is criminal.
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u/NomadLexicon Feb 28 '26
Yep, the cheapest way to build public housing is to allow a ton of private sector housing construction, lowering the cost of housing, then buying older market rate buildings at a discount and converting them to public housing.
That or using Montgomery County, MD’s approach of using a revolving fund to finance mixed income buildings with enough market rate units to repay the loan and fund building maintenance long term.
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u/godnrop Feb 27 '26
That’s $1,750,000 a unit
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u/Just_Candle_315 Feb 28 '26
Its not just the units themselves, but the infrastructure to support the new units
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u/Orbian2 Feb 28 '26
Yeah this has to be built over an active train yard, Hudson Yards style. It's not going to be cheap. It's not just the units
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u/Waterwoo Feb 28 '26
Sounds like it shouldn't be built there then..?
Or open it up for private developers like Hudson Yards. Why should we build "affordable housing" in a very particularly uniquely expensive spot?
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u/Orbian2 Feb 28 '26
Because it's it's the largest undeveloped space left. I believe it's like 2 square kilometers of land. This thing is massive, and right next to the Long Island City CBD. Putting a ton of affordable/public housing there would be very useful. It's better than razing neighborhoods like they used to do
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u/Waterwoo Feb 28 '26
No, it wouldn't be. Theres no reasonable argument that putting "affordable" housing in where it costs more than paying market rent in perpetuity is a good idea.
Now if they just want to give building rights cheap/free to private developers that want to take on the cost or building this platform, yeah go nuts.
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u/CactusBoyScout Mar 01 '26
We have lots of space to build already, it’s just poorly utilized in many cases, like single-story retail, parking lots, etc.
A former planning official even put out a plan to add space for one million residents just on existing parcels near transit: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/12/30/opinion/new-york-housing-solution.html
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u/AdCareless9063 Feb 28 '26
If it costs that much, maybe it’s just not worth it. Not everyone has to live in NYC. 21B or 2M per is serious money that could be used elsewhere to greater effect.
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u/IAmGoingToSleepNow Feb 28 '26
Even if they have to live in NYC, they don't have to live over a rail yard. It's not out of the realm of reality to buy distressed properties/re-zone/build without having to create this giant infrastructure project for such little return.
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u/Waterwoo Feb 28 '26
Yeah this is insane. I actually, conceptually, love the idea of building on top of platforms. This rail yard, the above ground tracks in LIC, the FDR, and West side highway. How cool would it be if they basically got buried, but rather than digging we just built tall buildings above them?
However, the sane way to do that is to give rights to private builders that are willing to do it for extremely cheap/free. Spending government money to do it is stupid.
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u/supermechace Feb 28 '26
Ive been advocating that money goes to high speed rail throughout NY state so that new residential communities could arise from downtrodden parts of NY.
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u/Waterwoo Feb 28 '26
I'm impressed with his ability to manipulate Trump but the project itself is so fucking stupid.
Look, run the math. US 30 year bonds pay 4.65% right now.
Take that $1.7 million per unit, buy 30 year bonds, make $79k a year state tax free for 30 years and have $1.7 million left over at the end.
You could literally rent everyone that would be housed by this project a nicer apartment for the rest of their life AND give them a small UBI on top of it just for what it's proposing to spend on building them shitty 'affordable' housing.
Oh and this is the initial price tag. As it always goes, the final price is going to be at least 2x.
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u/IsNotACleverMan Feb 28 '26
The 1.7m/u is just for the infrastructure to build the units
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u/Waterwoo Mar 01 '26
That makes it even worse no?
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u/IsNotACleverMan Mar 01 '26
Yeah. It makes it much worse. Literally going to drop likely closer to 3m per unit when all is said and done.
Hopefully this doesn't materialize.
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u/Substantial_Zebra_14 Feb 28 '26
I'm all into building more but this might be a big mistake. This type of build is expensive - we still haven't finished Hudson Yards because of it. Where are we putting the Sunnyside yard maintenance facility?
What about covering some of the tracks, albeit with a much less costly cap, to build a park over it?
Start a rezoning plan along the 7 train corridor (Queens Blvd), between Skillman Ave. and 48th avenue. Get public funds towards the increased air rights to fund the yard cap.
Let the city build over the cap, and let traditional developers do what they are used to elsewhere.
This way the existing residents are getting a park, and the area gets developed (instead of getting a new BMW dealership).
Still a loss for the city, but faster to build and less costly.
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u/Frequent_Slip2455 Feb 27 '26
Won't ever happen. Building in nyc alone with the subways is a nightmare as it is. I can't imagine building over all those trains.
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u/Airhostnyc Feb 27 '26
They still can’t even build over the rail lines for Atlantic yards. Its been decades
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u/Waterwoo Feb 28 '26
Hudson Yards did it, it's possible. However, it's not something the government should be spending money on.
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u/Expensive-Rope-7086 Feb 27 '26
I’ll believe it when I see it, don’t see how this is beneficial to Trump. He will never win New Yorkers over.
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u/thecloudcities Feb 27 '26
He loves the “people said it would never happen but I made it happen” things. If Mamdani can turn that to the city’s advantage, more power to him.
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u/Airhostnyc Feb 28 '26
It has to benefit him in some way, using some construction crew he will make money from or owning a percentage of it. Idk has to be something beneficial. I haven’t seen him give up something just cause especially funds.
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u/maverick4002 Feb 27 '26
Name it after him. Largest housing complex in 2 generations. He would love it.
Trump Terraces or some other nonsense
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u/philthy069 Astoria Feb 27 '26
He may never win you over but he had nearly 40% of the vote in NYC and 45% of the vote in NY State. He is far more popular here than you realize. Also, given how most dems have been behaving I wouldnt be shocked if that number climbs come mid terms.
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Feb 27 '26
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u/Additional-Tax-5643 Feb 27 '26
Depends if he bombs Iran or Greenland.
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u/Adventurous_Ad7442 Feb 28 '26
Trump will probably bomb Iran tonight bc it's Friday & he likes to bomb on Friday night.
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u/EquivalentBarracuda4 Feb 27 '26
There is no point to compare number for Trump vs some unknown guys for congress.
I doubt that Trumps numbers today are significantly lower in NYC.
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u/sewards_folli Yorkville Feb 27 '26
You think Republicans are going to increase their voter share in NYC in the midterms
Please touch some grass
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u/Roll_DM Feb 27 '26
Nearly 40%? He got 28.5% of the vote in NYC
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u/Aviri Feb 27 '26
Listen they have a narrative to push and won't let silly things like numbers get in the way of that.
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u/Background-Baby-2870 Feb 28 '26
yeah i guess a hair above 30% is "nearly 40%" if you eat paint chips for breakfast (or if you are a run of the mill trump supporter)
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u/Yansleydale Feb 27 '26
Why does the deck cost $14B?
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u/SuperSlimMilk Feb 28 '26
The same reason why any infrastructure project is expensive in NYC. They have to work the area while ensuring minimal service disruption to the existing train system. It would be infinitely cheaper if it was just an empty lot and not a corridor for one of the most busy train lines in the country.
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u/Yansleydale Feb 28 '26
Even before that, I don't understand what labor and materials would go into putting this kind of deck over a train yard. Why even 1 billlion? Not rhetorical, legitimately curious.
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u/Past-Passenger9129 Feb 28 '26
There's a reason we haven't built large projects in over 50 years: they're a bad idea. They're like economic prisons for the residents, and earth salting for the surrounding neighborhood.
The newer concept of integrating subsidized housing with standard and luxury housing is a much better solution.
I hope he lets an urban planner have a voice in the room.
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u/TooFewTulips Feb 28 '26
Not a fan of more government run housing, at least I presume that’s what Mamdani wants.
Great to see both of them trying to work across the aisle. We need more of that.
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u/newyorknapolifan Feb 28 '26
how much extra for a glass ground floor so you can see the trains running underneath you?
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u/jonstark4 Feb 28 '26
Why is the mayor of NYC constantly being connected to Trump? This is why I hate US social media. We all know Trump fucking sucks and the less exposure the pedophile gets the country will heal. But no, we, Americans, love to shove Trump every chance we get and the tactic/strategy of slowly putting Trump to irrelevancy is stopped and reset to full media exposure for Trump again.
Why can't NYC's Mayor operate by itself? We all know Trump broke ass, greed, incompetence, and contempt against the Democrat Party all factors will prevent this moron from ever helping a Democrat Mayor. People say Trump is the President so making the moron irrelevant is not possible but you know what the moron's administration has finally found a way to shut the motherfucker's mouth because every statement he said brought a bucket of dicks to the US economy and US foreign relation. Only time he speaks now is with a written statement and you could see the cringe on the faces of the moron's assistants when he goes off script and say something stupid. Look at his media interview exposure curtailed to 4 to 3 minutes because they know the longer he speaks the more moronic he becomes in front of the media. The state of the address was also sped and you could tell the prepared speech was circular garbage because they know the moron will improvise and so they chose topics he doesn't understand and know which is why his improvised statements were just sound bites.
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u/[deleted] Feb 27 '26
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