After Giuliani Tells Mamdani to Skip 9/11 Memorial, Mayor Drops Memo Showing He Knew Air Was Dangerous

A bitter confrontation between New York City’s former and current mayors has intensified ahead of the 25th anniversary of September 11. Rudy Giuliani publicly called on Mayor Zohran Mamdani to stay away from the Ground Zero memorial, targeting Mamdani’s Muslim faith while arguing that his presence would be disrespectful to victims and their families.

During an appearance on Newsmax, Giuliani made his opposition to Mamdani’s attendance unmistakable. «Having lost friends there and being very close to many of the families, it offends me that he’s coming,» Giuliani said. Mamdani nevertheless intends to attend Friday’s annual ceremony, where the names of those killed in the attacks will be read.

Mamdani responded by emphasizing his commitment to New York rather than accepting Giuliani’s demand. «I’m proud to be the mayor of this city. I love this city. I love this country,» he said. The mayor instead urged New Yorkers to keep the anniversary focused on victims, grieving families and first responders who rushed toward unimaginable danger.

«What I want this week to be a focus on is on the families whose loved ones were stolen from them 25 years ago in the horrific act of terror of September 11, and a focus also on the first responders who did everything they could,» Mamdani said, directly addressing the approaching anniversary ceremonies.

Two days after Giuliani’s remarks, Mamdani’s administration moved ahead with releasing hundreds of thousands of pages of previously undisclosed city records concerning the aftermath of 9/11. The material came from 68 boxes discovered in a government office last year, opening another window into decisions made by New York officials during Giuliani’s administration.

Among the documents is the Harding Memo, which provides evidence that Giuliani’s administration knew serious concerns existed about dangerous air conditions around Ground Zero. Its emergence revives questions about what City Hall understood about the environmental threat while first responders, cleanup crews, residents and workers continued spending time in areas contaminated following the World Trade Center’s collapse.

Alongside longtime 9/11 advocate Jon Stewart and people affected by the attacks, Mamdani announced a $34 million searchable digital portal intended to make the records publicly accessible. Although the documents emerged immediately after Giuliani’s attack, the project was already underway: Mamdani had allocated funding for the ambitious transparency initiative months earlier, in June 2026.

«People got sick because the leaders they trusted lied and told them they were safe to breathe in toxic air,» Mamdani said while announcing the initiative. His accusation places government assurances after September 11 under renewed scrutiny as newly accessible records allow survivors, victims’ families, researchers and the public to examine what officials knew about environmental conditions.

The collapse of the Twin Towers created an enormous cloud containing pulverized concrete, glass, asbestos, heavy metals and other hazardous materials. An estimated 400,000 people were exposed to potentially dangerous contaminants. First responders faced particularly intense exposure, but cleanup workers, downtown employees, residents and children also encountered pollution as Lower Manhattan attempted to recover from the attacks.

The September 11 attacks killed 2,977 people, including 2,753 in New York City. But the human toll continued growing for decades. Tens of thousands of responders and survivors have developed conditions associated with 9/11 exposure, while the number of people who have died from related illnesses has now surpassed the number killed on the day itself.

«Now, close to 25 years later, more people have died from 9/11-related illnesses than were killed on the day itself,» Mamdani said. Giuliani sought to make Mamdani’s attendance the controversy, but the newly released records have shifted attention toward Giuliani’s own administration—and what officials knew while thousands of New Yorkers continued breathing the contaminated air.