Many relatives of 9/11 victims say they will ignore or turn away from New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani if he attends this year’s 25th-anniversary memorial, fueling a new round of backlash over his role at the solemn ceremony.
The controversy comes as New York prepares to mark a quarter-century since the September 11 attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people, including hundreds of first responders. Mayor Mamdani, a self-described democratic socialist, has stated his intention to attend the Ground Zero ceremony and honor the dead. But for many families, his presence is not welcome, and the opposition is growing louder.
Relatives and supporters have organized a petition that has now gathered more than 98,000 signatures opposing Mamdani’s attendance. Petition organizer Giovanni Galante, whose wife Grace died in the attacks, said he plans to present the petition at City Hall on September 8, alongside Queens Republican Councilwoman Joann Ariola. “I would definitely ignore him,” Galante told reporters, reflecting the mood among many families who feel Mamdani’s attendance would be disrespectful.
Maureen Santora, 81, whose son Christopher was a firefighter who died at 23 in the South Tower, offered a blunt warning: “I just hope that he doesn’t say a single word because most of us will be very upset.” Other relatives, like Angie Pesce, who lost her brother Danny in the North Tower, accused Mamdani of planning to “show up to be spiteful.”
The sharp reaction highlights the unresolved tensions between the mayor and the city’s 9/11 families. Galante and Ariola have scheduled a press conference at City Hall for September 8 to bring their case directly to city leaders. Meanwhile, John McDevitt, president of an association of retired Port Authority police officers, sent letters on August 14 urging Mamdani to stay home.
The petition’s surge in support reflects more than personal grief. Critics have pointed to Mamdani’s decision to retain Ramzi Kassem as his chief counsel and his refusal to disavow Hasan Piker as reasons to question his judgment and motives. While the mayor has said he intends to honor the dead, families like the Santoras and Galantes see his planned attendance as a provocation, not a gesture of unity.
These grievances come amid increasing scrutiny of Mamdani’s leadership on other contentious city issues, such as his handling of anti-Israel rhetoric and the rise in antisemitic hate crimes. For many, his record makes his pledge to keep the September 11 memorial “nonpolitical” a tough sell, as documented in recent coverage of the mayor’s strained relationship with the city’s remembrance traditions.
Despite the strong opposition, not all 9/11 families are united in protest. Elizabeth Miller, a member of September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, defended Mamdani’s right to attend in remarks to CBS New York. Her group, according to reporting, condemned what it called Islamophobic attacks on the mayor, insisting the event should remain a space for mourning, not division.
The National September 11 Memorial & Museum has maintained that the ceremony should remain free of politics. Officials attending the event give no remarks, a policy meant to keep the focus on remembrance rather than public controversy. Whether Mamdani will abide by this protocol if he attends is not publicly confirmed, but families like Maureen Santora’s have made clear they do not want to hear from him at the podium.
Some, like Jeanette Puccio-Pick, whose father was on the 94th floor of the South Tower, said their focus will remain on honoring their loved ones, not on any official’s presence. Yet the planned protest actions, from turning away to holding a press conference at City Hall, signal a wider lack of trust in Mamdani’s ability to respect the day’s solemnity. This skepticism is not new; the mayor has faced repeated public pushback, as when he was booed off stage at an NYPD event and when his administration refused to face the City Council on tax issues.
The standoff over Mamdani’s attendance at the memorial caps off a stretch of political turbulence for his administration, from lawsuits over teacher pay raises to ongoing disputes with City Council. Each new controversy, including the 9/11 families’ petition, adds to the pressure on the mayor to demonstrate respect for the city’s most sacred civic moments, a challenge he has struggled to meet, as seen in his recent legal battles and public confrontations.
For many New Yorkers, the 25th anniversary of September 11 is a time to remember sacrifice, not to relitigate political disputes or endure another round of grandstanding from City Hall. The families’ message is clear: respect, not self-promotion, is what the day deserves.
When trust in leaders is already thin, ignoring the wishes of those who lost the most is a mistake that won’t be easily forgiven.