Overview
- Late July relatives of 9/11 victims started a Change.org petition asking the National September 11 Memorial & Museum to exclude Mayor Zohran Mamdani from the Sept. 11, 2026, 25th-anniversary ceremony, citing his past statements, endorsements, appointments and associations.
- Organizers say the petition has drawn thousands of signatures and hundreds of family endorsements, though reported totals vary widely across outlets from about 1,100 to more than 13,000.
- The memorial’s nonprofit says it keeps the ceremony nonpolitical and routinely seats sitting presidents, governors and mayors in a designated area without remarks, a policy that constrains its ability to deny an elected official’s attendance.
- City Hall has confirmed Mamdani intends to attend the commemoration and said he will stand alongside families, while petition organizers plan to press the City Council and hold public protests to try to block him.
- The dispute has broadened into public protests and high-profile endorsements of the campaign and highlights how controversies over Mamdani’s record on Israel and alleged ties to polarizing figures are shaping local political pressure and public reaction.