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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.
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"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, some 9/11 families have also responded. 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.”
A new Suffolk University poll reinforces that broader public sentiment breaks sharply from the petition’s organizers. According to the survey of 500 registered New York City voters, 73 percent said Mayor Mamdani should attend the 25th‑anniversary ceremony as the city’s official representative, compared with 20 percent who said he should not.
The findings suggest the debate around his presence is far more polarized among political actors than among the wider public.
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.
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When Did NYC Officials Release the Report?
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.
The statement continued, “That is why the Mamdani administration has made a significant investment to give the public access to information and documents related to City government’s response to the September 11 attacks – documents that were never previously made available to the public."
Officials said they will add additional documents to the portal on a rolling basis in the coming months, and noted that the mayor’s 2027 fiscal year budget includes $34 million to create and maintain the portal.
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At a press conference on Tuesday, Mamdani said, "For too long, New Yorkers have had to fight for access to records that should have been available to them in the first place. This portal is part of our administration's enduring commitment to honor those we lost, care for those living with lasting health consequences and give thousands of New Yorkers the answer they've been asking for."
Comedian Jon Stewart, a longtime advocate for 9/11 first responders who were sickened by exposure to toxins at Ground Zero, joined Mamdani at the press conference on Tuesday, calling out officials over air quality concerns shortly after the 2001 attacks.
"Everyone knew, and now it's very clear that the city knew as well," Stewart said Tuesday. "And rather than take the steps to ameliorate the damage that it would cause to its citizens and to the people that were down there, they instead covered it up to get back to business as usual. But unfortunately, after 9/11, business will never be usual again."
Democratic Representative Jerry Nadler, who represented his New York City district during the terrorist attacks, also applauded the mayor's move, saying, "The release of City Hall’s files related to the aftermath of 9/11 is a long-overdue reckoning. My colleagues and I who represented Ground Zero and the surrounding communities immediately warned local and federal officials of the health risks posed by toxins in the air at the time. Our warnings were not heeded, and now we and the public know that City Hall, led by former Mayor Giuliani, predicted that thousands of responders and community members would face devastating long-term health impacts from these toxins."
Ariola told Newsweek that the records "should have been released a long time ago," but called the timing "deliberate" and "scripted."
With regard to the records showing ongoing health concerns after officials deemed the air safe, Ariola said she is "not surprised because so many people have died over the years. Obviously, it was not safe; we did not have the proper PPE (personal protective equipment), and people are now suffering from 9/11 cancers and other diseases."
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What Did Ariola Say About Mamdani?
During a gathering outside of City Hall on Tuesday, in which Ariola said about 50 people were there, she noted the petition’s updated signature count, arguing that people have signed it “because Mayor Mamdani has done everything he can to suck the oxygen out of the room for this particular event we’re holding today.”
She cited his “performative” executive orders and the release of “information regarding the air quality down at 9/11, at Ground Zero,” as alleged deflection tactics.
She continued, “What he’s trying to do is deflect, as he always does from the real issue, which is that he does not care about 9/11 or the tragedies that took place because he surrounds himself with people who believe that America deserved what it got. And he does not disavow them. He does not step away from them. That’s really why he shouldn’t be there,” she said about the annual memorial service at Ground Zero.
She told Newsweek the gathering was inspired by a group of people "who are hurting because of the loss of their loved ones during a terrorist attack on our city and asking the mayor to take their feelings into consideration."
She added that the individuals are upset about "his actions now, the people he associates himself with now like Hasan Piker and [Chief Counsel to the Mayor] Ramzi Kassem," noting that those at the gathering aren't protesting Mamdani's attendance at the memorial because of his Islamic faith. Mamdani is New York City's first Muslim mayor.
The petition was organized by Giovanni Galante, whose wife, Grace Catherine Galante, was one of the nearly 3,000 people killed in the World Trade Center attack.
Ariola told Newsweek her office has "amplified it because we are in complete alignment with the families and their feeling that because of who Mayor Mamdani associates with and refuses to unassociate [sic] himself with, that he does not deserve a seat at the 9/11 memorial. It is about the families. It shouldn't be about him. He has yet to denounce BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions), yet to denounce 'Globalize the Intifada.'"
Mamdani told reporters on Monday, “I want this week to be a focus 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 gave everything they could to this city and to the people who came together to try and help their fellow New Yorkers."
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What Is in the Database?
An array of air quality reports, contamination records and correspondence between city staff show health officials were still finding evidence of asbestos at least 10 months after the attacks. Asbestos is a hazardous mineral commonly used in construction materials for insulation and fireproofing. Inhaling high levels of asbestos fibers can damage the lungs and increase the risk of serious illnesses, including lung cancer.
Officials had previously assured New Yorkers that the air in and around Ground Zero was safe to breathe.
The database also includes the Harding Memo, an internal document that was sent to then-Deputy Mayor Robert Harding in 2001 that discussed the city's potential liability for toxic-exposure claims shortly after September 11, as well as records related to environmental testing, cleanup operations and the reopening of Lower Manhattan.
The portal also includes records released as part of a settlement ending two lawsuits filed by 9/11 Health Watch, bringing a years-long legal fight over access to the documents to a close.
Who Is Attending the 9/11 Ceremony in New York City?
The ceremony is expected to be attended by the four living former presidents: Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Joe Biden. Vice President JD Vance will represent the Trump administration at Ground Zero, while President Donald Trump is scheduled to commemorate the anniversary at the Pentagon, which was also targeted in the September 11 attacks. Trump is expected to deliver remarks during the Pentagon ceremony.
Every year on September 11, families of victims gather at the National September 11 Memorial in Lower Manhattan, where the names of those killed in the attacks are read aloud during a ceremony marking the anniversary.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Jenni Fink and Sam Wilson.
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