This year’s 9/11 memorial service will mark Zohran Mamdani’s first as mayor of New York City.
Mamdani said he regards the occasion as an “enormous responsibility,” emphasizing that the focus must remain on remembrance, grief and the people whose lives were taken — not on politics.
“It’s about those that were killed that day. It’s about their families. It’s about the lives that have been shattered. And when you go through the museum, you see in those portraits an entire city. You see the breadth of what makes this city New York,” Mamdani said, “and on these anniversaries, you have an opportunity to recognize those, to remember those.”
The mayor said he wants Sept. 11, 2026 — the 25th anniversary of the attacks — to be observed as a solemn day dedicated to honoring those who died.
“That we gather together, not as individuals, but as New Yorkers, with love of that same city that they sought to protect,” Mamdani said. “Now it is a responsibility that we hold to not only never forget, but also to live up to the courage that they showed on that day.”
The anniversary comes as thousands of people continue to live with 9/11-related illnesses, and as renewed calls grow for the release of documents connected to the attacks.
“If there are documents that we are able to release, I think that they should always be released,” Mamdani said.
New York City’s fiscal year 2027 budget sets aside $34.2 million to develop a public online portal for 9/11-related documents.
“They can type in their keywords. They can look through these documents,” Mamdani said. “Because I think what’s frustrated many is the sense that, is there more to know? And the reason we wanted to put millions of dollars behind this is, take those documents, make them searchable. Make them accessible.”
On Sept. 11, 2001, the FDNY and NYPD struggled with significant communication problems.
“I think that our emergency services personnel deserve the best equipment, and I have been consistent about the fact that this is a place where we should have alignment at a federal level, at a state level, at a local level,” Mamdani said. “The least we can do for people who are running towards the very dangers that many run away from is to make sure that they have the best possible equipment.”
In the wake of the terror attacks, then-NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly set up an anti-terrorism program that included having informants in locations such as mosques. So would Mamdani support expanding surveillance activities in the city if the NYPD said it thought it was necessary to prevent an attack?
“I firmly believe that we can keep this city safe while also respecting the rights of the people of this city,” he said. “And what we have seen in the past has, at times, been an attempt to paint people as suspicious on the basis of just their religion or their faith. That to me is not acceptable. However, what I’m proud of our NYPD for doing today is respecting those rights and delivering on that public safety.”
New York City remains the No. 1 terror target in the nation, so what would the mayor do if there was credible information about an attack?
“The first thing I would do is sit down with my police commissioner and all of the top brass and work through exactly what the threat is, how we can ensure that it never materializes and how we keep New Yorkers safe,” Mamdani said.
