Families of 9/11 victims' message to Mamdani: 'Please do not come' to memorial ceremony

A coalition of 9/11 family members, first responders, and elected officials gathered on the steps of City Hall on Tuesday to deliver a message to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani: stay away from this year's Sept. 11 memorial service.

"This mayor is not serving us," Charles Wolf, who lost his wife on 9/11, said at a noon news conference. "He's serving himself. We are asking respectfully that he not show up."

"Even though there is going to be other politicians there, these are the politicians that helped us push beneficial laws through and literally held our hand during that time," Wolf continued. "Mayor Mamdani has not shown any of that, none of it. He just wants to be there because he wants to be there."

"So we are asking him to respect the fact that that trauma is revived during the ceremony. It is a private ceremony. It is not a public ceremony. Mayor Mamdani, please do not come."

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New York City Council Member Vickie Paladino, a staunch, outspoken conservative, said she was leading organizers and family members into City Hall to formally deliver a petition with more than 101,000 signatures directly to the mayor's office ahead of Friday's 25th anniversary service.

"I am demanding that he not show his face at that sacred ground," Paladino said. "He does not belong there."

"We the people do not care for Zohran Mamdani - 101,000 names is not a drop in the bucket. Do not, Zohran Mamdani, take us New Yorkers for granted. We were there that day. The sky looked very similar to this. Stay put. Stay in City Hall and promote your propaganda."

Organized by Giovanni Galante - whose wife, Grace, was killed in the Sept. 11 attacks - the petition asks that the sacred anniversary remain a solemn, distraction-free day of mourning rather than a backdrop for political presence.

"We don't believe in what he believes in, and we really want us to be left alone," Galante said. "This 25th anniversary is for victims and survivors to blend in and pray that day for all the families - not have a circus around us."

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The sentiment was echoed by other grieving family members who stressed that the Sept. 11 memorial service is a private, sacred space for victims' relatives to gather in peace.

"If we feel that we don't want someone at our world-class memorial museum that's sacred and hallowed, we feel that that person should respect our wishes," said Monica Iken, whose husband, Michael, was killed in the attacks. "He didn't go to the 20th … so I don't know why he's so adamant about going to this one when we just ask that he just respect us from 7 to 11 and let us have our mourning."

The objections stem directly from the mayor's current policy positions, political associations, and key appointments, according to the speakers at the news conference.

Cheri Sparacio, whose husband, Tom, was killed in the South Tower, said the petition was not about the mayor's background or faith, but his public actions. She noted Mamdani's appointment of chief counsel Ramzi Kassem - who previously represented individuals accused of terror ties - and his past ties to figures who have downplayed terror threats.

"That is what we object to," she said.

NYC Council Member Joann Ariola, also a Republican, accused the mayor of attempting to deflect from the families' concerns with performative announcements leading up to the event, rebuking the fact he has surrounded himself with advisers holding views hostile to core American values.

"Other politicians will be there, no one will speak - it is about the survivors and about those who were murdered that day," Ariola said. "Mayor Mamdani, for once, listen to your constituents and not your influencers and stay away from an event, a ceremonial commemoration of the lives that were lost on 9/11."