'Don't show your face': 9/11 victims' families demand Mamdani skip World Trade Center ceremony

Families of 9/11 victims marched to City Hall with a petition containing more than 100,000 signatures on Tuesday, demanding New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani avoid the upcoming 25th-anniversary commemoration at the World Trade Center site. The families gathered on the steps of City Hall for a press conference, where they detailed their concerns over Mamdani's public stances and associations.

Giovanni Galante, a widower of 9/11 victim Grace, initiated the petition on change.org on July 9 due to his apprehensions about the mayor's public positions and rhetoric. Galante stated during the press conference, "The main purpose is just that we don't believe in what he believes in, and we really want to be left alone." He emphasized, "This 25th anniversary is for our victims and us survivors to blend in and pray that day for all the families, not have a circus around us."

Monica Iken, whose husband Michael was killed in the towers, echoed the families' request, saying, "If the families really 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." Iken clarified, "It's nothing against the mayor - it's just against the fact that he wasn't here. He wasn't in this country when the tragedy occurred, and I think he should respect us."

Cheri Sparacio, whose husband Tom was killed in the South Tower, reiterated the petition's central objection: "Our petition is not about Mayor Mamdani's religion or where he came from; it is strictly about the policies he has today." She stressed, "It's about the policies he has today."

Elected officials and organizational leaders, including City Council Members Joanne Areola and Vicky Paladino, joined the families at City Hall. Areola criticized the administration's recent actions, asserting that the mayor "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."

Paladino took a firm stance, demanding, "I am not asking politely for the mayor not to come to that ceremony. I am asking, I am demanding that he not show his face at that sacred ground."

The press conference followed Mamdani's remarks to ABC News on Monday, in which he confirmed his attendance at the solemn observances. He expressed his intention to focus on the families affected by the September 11 attacks, as well as first responders and those who aided in the aftermath. The mayor stated, "And so, in the days to come, my focus will be on attending events that memorialize that incredible courage, and I will be there on Friday at the memorial just as I was last year."