Republican New York City Council Member Joann Ariola criticized Mayor Zohran Mamdani's release of thousands of documents related to the health impacts and aftermath of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, describing the move to Newsweek as "performative" and saying during a press conference it was an attempt to "deflect" from what she called a lack of concern for 9/11 victims and their families. Ariola first made the comments during a gathering outside City Hall on Tuesday, where she and others sought to block Mamdani from attending September 11 memorial events later this week, and then again in an interview with Newsweek. "He knew that there would be a press conference today with the 9/11 families, of loved ones who passed," she told Newsweek of the Democratic mayor.
"So he did everything he could, from being performative and signing two executive orders the other day to today making an announcement to release the papers regarding the air quality at Ground Zero, because what he wanted to do was eat up the air time of the media, and every reporter in Room 9 was going through all the documents, and in my opinion that was because he wanted the focus to be on that and not what was happening outside of City Hall with the families," she said. Multiple Republican lawmakers, including former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, have said that Mamdani should not attend the ceremony commemorating the 25th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks. Some, such as former Republican Governor George Pataki, have taken issue with people Mamdani has not explicitly distanced himself from.
Pataki told City & State New York earlier in September, “With respect to the mayor, I think anyone who doesn’t intentionally distance themselves from [left-wing streamer] Hasan Piker, who has said that America deserved the attacks of September 11th, should not be there." Mamdani condemned Piker's comments about 9/11 during the mayoral debate last year, and Piker has since disavowed them. An online petition against the mayor’s presence has gained more than 102,000 signatures as of Tuesday. The petition cites the mayor's associations with individuals, including Piker and other politicians and figures, whom organizers describe as controversial, as reasons he should not attend.
However, there has also been a notable counter-response from some 9/11 families. Elizabeth Miller, whose father died in the attacks and who has attended the annual ceremony for years, said: “Mayor Mamdani has assured 9/11 families that he wants to be there to honor our loved ones, and I think he should be allowed to do that.” Democratic leaders, along with Mamdani’s Republican rival in the 2025 mayoral race, Curtis Sliwa, have supported his presence at the 25th anniversary remembrance, and the mayor has repeatedly said he will attend on Friday. New York City mayors have traditionally attended the annual September 11 remembrance ceremonies at Ground Zero.
Newsweek reached out to City Hall for comment via email on Tuesday. New York City officials launched a searchable online portal on Tuesday containing about 170,000 pages of records from various city agencies. The documents include air quality reports, health records and other materials related to the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Citing a lack of transparency around the attacks and their long-term health and environmental consequences, city officials said the portal is intended to give the public greater access to records related to the city's response. "For too long, information about the aftermath of September 11th has not been provided to the public. For years, families, city workers, and survivors have been crying out for more transparency from their government," 83rd Corporation Counsel Steven Banks said in a statement on the portal's website.
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