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President Donald Trump and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani met for roughly an hour at Gracie Mansion on Monday, discussing a major housing proposal in Queens and the broader affordability crisis facing New Yorkers as scores of world leaders arrived in the city for the United Nations General Assembly.

The meeting marked the third known face-to-face encounter between Trump and Mamdani and their first at the mayor’s official residence. Despite significant political differences, the two leaders emerged together afterward and said they intended to continue working on areas where the federal government and City Hall could cooperate.

Trump arrived at Gracie Mansion shortly before 4 p.m., making the stop as part of a packed New York schedule surrounding his appearance at the U.N. General Assembly. Nearly 130 world leaders were expected in New York for the gathering, with Trump scheduled for a series of meetings with foreign leaders during his visit.

Standing alongside Mamdani following their private discussion, Trump reflected on his own history at Gracie Mansion and the mayors who have occupied it over the years.

“Hopefully you’re going to be a great one,” Trump told Mamdani, patting him on the back. “And you’re off to a start.”

The President said the visit had a distinctly New York feel despite the international diplomacy dominating his schedule.

“I have a lot of meetings right now, very important meetings with heads of different countries, but this is like a little bit of old home week for me,” Trump said, adding, “We’ve done so many things from the beautiful home or house or building standing right behind me.”

Housing emerged as one of the central subjects of Monday’s discussion. Trump and Mamdani said they spoke about plans for a large-scale development in Queens as well as broader efforts to reduce the cost of living for working-class New Yorkers.

More specifically, the discussion included the long-debated proposal to build over Sunnyside Yard in western Queens. The massive rail yard has for years been eyed as a potential site for a new neighborhood, and Trump and Mamdani said Monday that discussions over a plan involving approximately 12,000 homes were moving forward. The project has been estimated to cost roughly $21 billion and would face substantial engineering, financing and approval hurdles before construction could begin.

Housing has been a central focus of Mamdani’s first year at City Hall. His administration says New York City financed the creation or preservation of 12,491 affordable homes during the first six months of 2026, while his first city budget included a planned $22 billion in affordable-housing capital investment over five years.

Monday’s meeting continued a relationship that has attracted attention because of the substantial ideological differences between the Republican President and the democratic socialist mayor.

Their first meeting came at the White House shortly after Mamdani won the 2025 mayoral election. The encounter was considerably more cordial than the public exchanges that had characterized the campaign, during which the two repeatedly criticized each other. At the White House meeting, both emphasized areas where federal and city officials might cooperate on issues affecting New Yorkers.

Mamdani returned to Washington in February for another meeting with Trump. During that visit, he presented the President with a mock New York Daily News front page reading “Trump to City: Let’s Build,” a play on the newspaper’s famous 1975 “Ford to City: Drop Dead” headline. Mamdani used the meeting to press for federal cooperation on housing development in New York.

Both men acknowledged Monday that those cooperative discussions have not erased their significant disagreements on other issues.

One such disagreement surfaced during the post-meeting press conference when Mamdani was asked about Trump’s decision to bar CNN, MS NOW and Politico reporters from White House grounds. Mamdani said he considered it important for those organizations, along with other media outlets, to be permitted to cover Monday’s event at Gracie Mansion.

Trump defended his decision to restrict the outlets’ White House access, arguing that their reporting has been unfair.

“It’s interesting because they said they were gonna boycott me. But they never boycott me,” the president said, before adding, “I think that these outlets have an obligation to be fair.”

CNN, MS NOW and Politico filed suit against the Trump administration Monday over their removal from the White House, arguing that the decision violates their First Amendment and due-process rights. The White House has countered that the First Amendment protects the outlets’ right to publish but does not guarantee reporters physical access to the White House complex.

Trump’s appearance at Gracie Mansion also represented a return to a building he had visited long before entering the White House.

Among his previous appearances there was the 2003 wedding of then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Judith Nathan. Trump also attended a 2007 book event at the mansion for longtime Democratic Congressman Charles Rangel.

After Trump departed, Mamdani returned to the Gracie Mansion lawn and spoke further with reporters. He acknowledged that he and the President remain far apart politically and on numerous policy questions but said he viewed continued communication with Washington as worthwhile when it could produce tangible benefits for New Yorkers.

“I will continue to have conversations with the president, and frankly, anyone who can deliver relief to the people of this city,” Mamdani said.

The meeting took place against an unusually international backdrop in New York, with heads of state, diplomats and security delegations converging on Manhattan for the U.N. General Assembly. Trump is scheduled to address the General Assembly and hold a series of bilateral meetings with foreign leaders during his stay.

The White House on Monday defended President Donald Trump’s decision to bar CNN, MS NOW and Politico from White House grounds, arguing that reporters have no constitutional guarantee of physical access to the presidential complex and pointing to past disputes between Democratic administrations and news organizations. The three outlets filed a federal lawsuit Monday challenging the ban on First Amendment and due-process grounds.

Trump announced the removal of the three organizations last week, accusing them of repeatedly publishing false information. The outlets’ reporters were subsequently denied entry to the White House grounds.

In its response Monday, the administration said CNN, MS NOW and Politico remain entitled to report on Trump and his administration, but argued that freedom of the press does not automatically include credentials or physical access to the White House.

“The First Amendment protects their right to publish; it does not entitle them to a hard pass, briefing room seat, or place in the press pool,” the White House said in a statement.

CNN, MS NOW and Politico sued the administration Monday, asking a federal court to restore their White House access. Their lawsuit argues that the government cannot revoke press credentials because officials object to the content of a news organization’s reporting. The outlets allege violations of both the First Amendment and the Fifth Amendment’s due-process protections.

The news organizations maintain that constitutional protections prevent government officials from selectively denying journalists access in retaliation for coverage they dislike. A federal court hearing on their request for emergency relief is scheduled for Wednesday.

In defending its action, the Trump administration argued that disputes over White House press access predate the current controversy and cited several examples involving the administrations of Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

Among the cases highlighted by the White House was the Obama administration’s highly publicized 2009 dispute with Fox News. Administration officials sharply criticized the network and sought to distinguish it from other news organizations, while Fox and other media groups objected to efforts to exclude it from certain interviews and pooled coverage.

Then-White House communications director Anita Dunn referred to Fox News as the “communications arm” of the GOP, while other Obama administration officials questioned whether the network should be treated in the same manner as traditional news organizations.

The White House also cited the Obama-era Justice Department investigation involving Fox News correspondent James Rosen. During an investigation into the disclosure of classified information, federal investigators obtained records connected to Rosen’s communications and described him in court documents as a possible “co-conspirator” as they sought to identify his source.

Another example cited by the administration involved the Justice Department’s seizure of telephone records associated with more than 20 Associated Press lines used by reporters and editors. The action, which covered a two-month period, prompted objections from the AP and press-freedom organizations.

The White House statement also pointed to earlier Obama-era conflicts involving the Boston Herald and San Francisco Chronicle as additional examples of tensions between an administration and individual news organizations.

It further noted that during the final stretch of Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign, journalists representing three newspapers were removed from the campaign plane after their editorial pages endorsed Republican presidential nominee John McCain. The newspapers disputed the suggestion at the time that the decisions were retaliation for those endorsements.

The administration also cited press-access controversies during the Biden presidency.

In 2023, New York Post reporter Steven Nelson was denied access to an event involving Biden and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Nelson had repeatedly questioned Biden about foreign business dealings involving members of his family, and the Post objected publicly to his exclusion.

That same year, the Biden White House introduced revised requirements governing permanent White House press credentials. The changes resulted in hundreds of journalists losing their existing hard passes unless they met the new criteria.

The Trump administration cited those previous disputes to argue that presidential administrations have long exercised discretion over who receives physical access to the White House, rejecting assertions that restrictions on press access originated with Trump. The legality of the current ban, however, is now before a federal court, with CNN, MS NOW and Politico arguing that the administration singled them out because of their reporting.

“No President is required to host a hostile operation on the grounds,” the White House statement read. “Access has always been a privilege — and President Trump is applying that rule.”

A police officer assigned to protect a shul in Belleville, Ontario, was seriously wounded Sunday night when a shotgun-wielding gunman opened fire outside the building as approximately two dozen Jews were inside for Yom Kippur davening, triggering a fierce exchange of gunfire that sent congregants scrambling for cover.

The shooting erupted at approximately 7 p.m. outside Sons of Jacob Synagogue, located near Victoria and Bleecker avenues in Belleville, about 110 miles east of Toronto. Authorities said as many as 20 to 30 shots were fired during the confrontation, with bullets striking the shul, nearby homes and vehicles. No congregants inside the building were injured.

Authorities on Monday identified the wounded officer as Const. Jeff Smith, a 13-year veteran of the Belleville Police Service. The suspected gunman was identified as 29-year-old Sean Ward of Quinte West. Smith remained hospitalized in serious but stable condition, while Ward was hospitalized with life-threatening injuries.

According to Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit, which is investigating the police shooting, Smith was stationed near the shul when Ward allegedly approached armed with a shotgun and opened fire. Smith returned fire, and a second officer who arrived during the confrontation also discharged his weapon. Both Smith and Ward were struck.

The gunfire broke out as members of the small Jewish community were gathered inside the shul on the opening night of Yom Kippur.

Norman Weddum, president of Sons of Jacob Synagogue, said Smith had been positioned outside the shul in an unmarked police vehicle as a security measure. Weddum recalled suddenly hearing the barrage of gunfire while the congregation was inside.

“It was boom, boom, boom,” Weddum said. “So that’s when we ran back into the auditorium of the synagogue, closed the doors behind us so as to not leave a visible target and we hit the floor.”

Approximately 25 people were reportedly inside at the time. The congregation subsequently canceled its remaining Yom Kippur services following the shooting.

Weddum said he believes the location and circumstances of the attack point to an antisemitic motive.

“When an individual with a firearm approaches a synagogue where Jews are praying, I would call that a hate crime,” he said.

Authorities, however, have not yet established a motive or officially determined that the shul or Jewish community was deliberately targeted. Investigators are examining the possibility of a hate-related motive, but the investigation remained ongoing Monday.

Belleville Police Deputy Chief Sheri Meeks sought to reassure the community that there was no continuing threat while strongly condemning antisemitism and violence.

“We recognize the concern and uncertainty many may be feeling, particularly given that this occurred near the Sons of Jacob Synagogue during one of the holiest days in the Jewish faith,” Meeks said. “Let me be very clear: antisemitism, hate, and violence have no place in our community. Every person deserves to feel safe when attending a place of worship, gathering with loved ones, or participating in community life.”

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney condemned the shooting and emphasized the right of Canadian Jews to practice their religion without fear.

“Jewish people must be able to worship safely. To live free, open, proud Jewish lives. Canada’s government will do everything in our power to support law enforcement in ensuring that the perpetrator is held accountable to the fullest extent of the law,” Carney said.

Carney’s comments came amid heightened concern over antisemitic incidents targeting Jewish institutions in Canada. Police departments in other communities increased their presence around shuls and other houses of worship following the Belleville shooting.

Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre also condemned the attack.

“This vile antisemitic violence in Canada must end, and this Liberal government must act now to protect our people,” Poilievre said.

“Jewish Canadians must once again be able to live in their communities and pray in their places of worship without fear of being shot at or attacked,” he added.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he was “disgusted” by the violence and expressed solidarity with Jews in Belleville and across the province.

“My thoughts are with the Jewish community in Belleville and across Ontario, who have every right to gather and worship safely and without fear,” Ford said.

“We owe an immense debt of gratitude to this brave officer and to all the first responders who acted so quickly to keep the community safe,” he added.

The Ontario Special Investigations Unit has assigned four investigators and two forensic investigators to the case. The SIU automatically investigates incidents involving police in Ontario that result in serious injury or death. Investigators have appealed to anyone who witnessed the shooting or possesses video or photographs of the incident to come forward.

Police maintained an increased presence around houses of worship in Belleville on Monday as investigators continued processing the scene around Sons of Jacob Synagogue. Authorities said there was no known ongoing danger to the public.