Petition from 9/11 families asks NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani not to attend remembrance ceremony
Family members who lost loved ones on 9/11 have started an online petition calling for New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani not to attend the 25th 9/11 remembrance ceremony.
Giovanni Galante, a 9/11 widower, started the petition with a woman who lost her husband on 9/11. Galante’s 29-year-old wife, Grace Catherine Galante, worked on the 105th floor of the north tower.
“We felt that having Mamdani there would show a disrespect to our family members because of the people he supports,” Galante said.
As of Tuesday morning, there were more than 23,000 signatures on the petition.
Monica Iken Murphy is among those who signed. She lost her 37-year-old husband, Michael, on 9/11. He worked on the 84th floor of the south tower.
“I feel anyone who attends this 25th pivotal anniversary for us, we just want a little time for ourselves, and we don’t want someone just coming in, who just came into office, who really wasn’t there,” Murphy said.
“Until he does something proactive for the 9/11 community, he should just sit there in City Hall,” 9/11 advocate John Feal said.
What the petition says
The petition they signed asks organizers of the 25th remembrance ceremony to carefully consider Mamdani’s participation, saying, “Concerns have been raised about Mr. Mamdani’s public positions, associations, and responses to rhetoric that many perceive as hostile.”
The document questions Mamdani’s affiliation with people who have been accused of being anti-American, including his father, and says the event is grounded in shared American values, including “recognition of the gravity of the attacks, and a clear rejection of the ideologies that contributed to such violence.”
Not everybody agrees with the stance taken in the petition. Some said they don’t see the wisdom in trying to keep Mamdani away.
“There’s been mayors and governors for the past 25 years that really did nothing to help the 9/11 family members. They were never banned,” said Dennis McKeon, organizer of the 9/11 survivor group on Staten Island. “We lost 29 people in our parish in St. Clare’s; that’s how I first got involved. I think everyone’s entitled to their own opinion.”
Mamdani plans to stand “alongside them” on 9/11
CBS News New York’s Marcia Kramer asked the mayor how he feels about the fact that there is a movement trying to keep him away.
“I will proudly honor the families, the survivors, the first responders forever impacted by that horrific terror attack by standing alongside them at this year’s 9/11 commemoration, reaffirming that we will never forget the solemn day felt by all of us who call this city home and, frankly, by all of us who called this country home,” Mamdani said.
The 9/11 Memorial & Museum said, in part, “We have intentionally worked to keep the commemoration free of politics. Government officials from across the political spectrum have attended the ceremony simply to bear witness.”
The petition organizers plan to ask the City Council for help. The 9/11 Memorial & Museum spokesperson added politicians do not deliver remarks and are asked to remain in a designated area.
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