Families of those killed in the 9/11 attacks are divided on whether New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani should attend the annual remembrance at Ground Zero.
Twenty-five years after a New York mayor stood with the nation in grief, that same role now pulls the community apart. Some relatives say Mamdani should not be there. Others say he belongs. The ceremony itself has not changed. The people have.
Mamdani, the first Muslim to hold the office, has said he will "proudly honor" the families, survivors, and first responders by standing alongside them at this year's commemoration. He plans to attend as an observer, without a speaking role. That is the long-standing policy for elected officials at the event. They bear witness. They do not lead.
But a petition circulating online asks organizers to exclude him. It has gathered tens of thousands of signatures. Some of the names on it belong to people who lost husbands, wives, parents, and children in the attacks. They argue his presence would detract from a day meant for families and those directly affected. They point to past remarks and associations they say show insufficient respect for the horror of that day.
Giovanni Galante, whose wife died in the attacks, helped organize the petition. He has accused Mamdani of failing to meaningfully acknowledge the horror of 9/11. Cheri Sparacio, whose husband Thomas was killed, has cited Mamdani's past association with left-wing streamer Hasan Piker, who once said "America deserved 9/11" before apologizing. These are not small things to the people carrying them.
Other families disagree. Some have come forward to defend Mamdani's inclusion. They say the ceremony should remain free of politics. They note that every sitting president, governor, and mayor since 9/11 has attended simply to bear witness. To single out one mayor, they argue, breaks that tradition and turns grief into a gatekeeping contest nobody wins.
The 9/11 Memorial & Museum, which runs the ceremony, has reiterated its policy. It is a private nonprofit. It keeps the event non-political. It has given no indication it will change the rules for this year's 25th anniversary. Officials from across the political spectrum will be in the designated area. They will not deliver remarks. They will stand and listen as names are read.
Curtis Sliwa, who ran against Mamdani in last year's mayoral election, told reporters the families opposing the mayor should "stop being sore losers." He said they should respect the office even if they disagree with the person holding it. "He's the mayor. He's representing the city," Sliwa said. He also said he does not want to tell family members what to do on that solemn occasion, but he believes the office itself deserves respect.
City Council Speaker Julie Menin called the push to keep Mamdani away "absolutely inappropriate." She rejected the calls for him to stay away from the 25th anniversary commemoration. The dispute unfolds around a ceremony that has long kept elected officials in the background while victims' relatives read the names of those killed.
Mamdani has faced other criticism tied to remembrance. He skipped this year's ceremony for the victims of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. Instead, he pitched a housing project to President Donald Trump in Washington, DC. He sent a deputy to the memorial in his place. Some family members of the 1993 victims accused him of blowing off the event because it lacked major media coverage. He was also photographed last year grinning with a Brooklyn imam who was an unindicted co-conspirator in the 1993 bombing. These details feed the distrust.
Republican senators have rallied behind the petition. They call Mamdani's planned attendance a disgrace. They say his presence dishonors the nearly 3,000 people killed that day. New York gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman has urged attendees to turn their backs on Mamdani during the ceremony. He cites Mamdani's refusal to condemn "globalize the intifada." The mayor has said he still plans to attend.
This is the catch. The ceremony was built to hold grief without politics. Now the grief itself is political. Not because the organizers changed the rules. Because the people carrying the loss cannot agree on what respect looks like. One side says respect means keeping certain people out. The other says respect means letting the office stand, no matter who fills it.
Mamdani's office says his purpose is to stand with the affected community, not to make a political statement. He has reaffirmed his commitment to attend. The petition organizers say his presence would politicize the day. Both sides claim to protect the sanctity of the ceremony. Both sides feel the other is violating it.
There is no clean answer here. There is only the fact that 25 years on, the wound still shapes how people see leadership, faith, and belonging in New York. The mayor will stand in the designated area. The names will be read. Some families will turn away. Others will not. The ceremony will go on. The division will remain.