Families of nearly 3,000 people killed on September 11, 2001, are petitioning to ban New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani from the 25th anniversary ceremony at Ground Zero, calling him an "unwelcome guest" whose record dishonors their dead.
Giovanni Galante lost his wife, Grace Catherine Galante, on 9/11. She was 29 years old. Now 55, the Brooklyn-born real estate agent lives in Florida but has not moved on from what happened at the Twin Towers, and he does not intend to let the man running New York City stand at the site where she died without a fight. Galante is one of two organizers behind a Change.org petition that has collected more than 1,100 signatures in just over a week, with at least 300 of those signers identified as victims' family members, the New York Post reported.
The petition asks the organizers of the commemoration at the former Twin Towers site in Lower Manhattan, run by the nonprofit 9/11 Memorial & Museum, to "carefully consider whether Mr. Mamdani's participation would align with the intention of the ceremony and the expectations of the families most directly affected by the tragedy." It calls for the anniversary to remain "centered on remembrance, unity, and an unambiguous rejection of the violence and extremism that defined that day."
Mamdani's office says he is coming anyway.
Galante laid out the families' case in plain terms. Their objection, he said, is not partisan. It is personal, rooted in what they see as a long trail of associations, endorsements, and silences that disqualify Mamdani from standing on sacred ground.
"Our objection is based on his public record, his failure to meaningfully acknowledge the horror of that day, and his employment of, support for, or association with individuals who have minimized 9/11, defended terrorists, or even suggested America 'deserved' the attacks."
Galante did not stop there.
"This day is sacred to us. It is not political, and it is not a platform for those connected to such views. His presence would be deeply hurtful and inappropriate, like an unwelcome guest at a deeply personal ceremony."
The petition lists specific concerns. Among them: Mamdani's refusal to condemn the "globalize the intifada" rallying cry; his appearance during the mayoral campaign with Imam Siraj Wahhaj, a Brooklyn imam who was named an unindicted co-conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing; his appointment of Ramzi Kassem as the city's chief counsel; and his endorsements of political candidates with their own troubling records.
Kassem defended Ahmed al-Darbi, who pleaded guilty in a 2002 plot to bomb a French oil tanker, and also represented Mahmoud Khalil, the lead organizer of the 2024 anti-Israel encampment at Columbia University. Mamdani endorsed Aber Kawas, a Democratic Socialists of America member running for a state Senate seat, who once described 9/11 as a terror attack that "a couple of people did" and expressed sympathy for Ahmed Ferhani, a man who pleaded guilty in 2012 to plotting to blow up a Manhattan synagogue.
Mamdani also endorsed Darializa Avila Chevalier for Congress, calling her the "perfect candidate." Chevalier, another DSA-aligned figure, once called the United States "a f, ing disgrace" and, according to the petition, boasted about using the American flag as a napkin.
The pushback against Mamdani from prominent New Yorkers is not new. Ambassador Charles Kushner recently announced he was leaving New York City altogether, blaming the mayor and the first lady for rising antisemitism.
The petition also raises Mamdani's own words. Social media posts from 2015, which resurfaced last year, allegedly show the now-mayor defending Anwar al-Awlaki, the al-Qaeda-linked cleric who served as imam at mosques in San Diego and Virginia. U.S. officials have said al-Awlaki interacted with three of the 9/11 hijackers at those mosques. Mamdani's posts reportedly blamed America for turning al-Awlaki into a terrorist. The petition does not quote the posts directly, and neither does the New York Post's reporting.
Then there is the mayor's father. Mahmood Mamdani, a chaired professor of African history and colonialism at Columbia University, has expressed sympathy for suicide bombers, according to the petition. No specific statements from the elder Mamdani are quoted.
And the petition flags Mamdani's longtime association with left-wing influencer Hasan Piker, who once said "America deserved" the September 11 attacks.
Cheri Sparacio, the other petition organizer, lost her husband Thomas on 9/11. He was 35. The Staten Island widow said there are "so many other examples" of "disrespectful" conduct by Mamdani that "we couldn't fit them on the list."
Mamdani has faced a growing wave of public confrontations over his record. A survivor of the Nova music festival massacre publicly called him out over a video related to arresting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a pledge Mamdani was eventually forced to reverse after admitting the city lacked the authority to carry it out.
Monica Iken-Murphy carries weight on this question that few others can match. Her husband, Michael Iken, was 37 when he was killed on 9/11. She became a founding trustee of the 9/11 Memorial & Museum board and a leading advocate in the creation of the memorial itself. She signed the petition.
Iken-Murphy framed her objection carefully. She said the issue is not Mamdani's politics. Only politicians who were involved in the healing process from the start, she named former mayors Rudy Giuliani and Michael Bloomberg, former U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton, and City Council Speaker Julie Menin, should attend the 25th anniversary.
"I don't want families to feel uncomfortable. Others can come a different day, but let the families have their time."
The distinction she draws is sharp. Every sitting president, governor, and mayor since 9/11 has attended the annual ceremony, according to 9/11 Memorial & Museum spokesperson Julie Wood. Government officials do not deliver remarks and are asked to remain in a designated area. Wood said the nonprofit has "intentionally worked to keep the commemoration free of politics because remembering those we lost on 9/11 should never be a partisan issue."
But the families are not asking for a political debate. They are asking whether a mayor with Mamdani's specific record belongs at this particular ceremony, and the memorial's boilerplate answer about bipartisan attendance does not address what they actually raised.
Mamdani spokesperson Jeremy Edwards confirmed the mayor still plans to show up. His statement leaned on the language of unity:
"Mayor Mamdani will proudly honor the families, survivors and first responders forever impacted by these devastating attacks 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."
The families who launched the petition are unlikely to find that reassuring. Galante and Sparacio said they plan to contact the New York City Council for help. Queens Councilwoman Joann Ariola has already signaled she is ready to assist.
"This is a mayor who has endorsed candidates and has been endorsed by individuals who openly said that 'America deserved 9/11,' so I completely understand why families of those who lost loved ones would not want him there."
Council Speaker Julie Menin, whom Iken-Murphy named as one of the politicians who earned the right to attend, did not return a request for comment.
Mamdani's political isolation extends well beyond the families of 9/11 victims. Queens Borough President Donovan Richards compared the Democratic Socialists of America to white supremacists, deepening a public rift with the mayor's political base. And Senator John Fetterman told Mamdani to "sit down" after the mayor's Netanyahu arrest threat, a rebuke from a fellow Democrat that landed hard.
New York City's first Muslim mayor has promoted his religion since taking office in January. No one disputes his right to practice his faith. But 2,977 people died on September 11, 2001, and the families who buried them are asking one straightforward question: does this man's record earn him a place at their ceremony?
The petition has more than 1,100 names on it. The families are not asking for much, just one morning at Ground Zero without an unwelcome guest.
