Last time the two met, Trump asked him to return with ideas to build big things. Mamdani came back with a massive housing proposal. Mamdani's team created mock headlines to show Trump how such a project would be received. He was very enthusiastic.
In his four years as director of the New York City Department of Planning, Dan Garodnick oversaw one of the most sweeping changes to the city's zoning rules in decades. The policy, called City of Yes, initiated a collection of revisions to boost housing, including updates that allow new apartment projects to add bulk used for affordable housing, homes to convert basements or add backyard cottages as accessory dwellings, and more office buildings to be converted into residential space.
The rationale behind the crackdown was twofold: First, it was meant to tame the influx of tourists who were impacting the quality of life of local residents who were left feeling crowded out of their own neighborhoods. The second objective was to boost housing inventory for locals, with the belief that the ban on short-term rentals would increase the housing stock as units that had been repurposed for tourism would revert back to long-term housing.