A retired police officers' union has launched a coordinated campaign to bar New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Governor Kathy Hochul from attending the 25th anniversary commemoration at Ground Zero on September 11, citing concerns about their public records and recent decisions.
In letters dated August 14, John McDevitt, president of the Port Authority Retired Police Association, formally requested both Democratic officials exclude themselves from the ceremony. The union represents officers who worked at the World Trade Center, 37 of whom were killed in the 2001 attacks.
The pressure campaign reveals deepening tensions between city and state leadership and constituencies claiming guardianship over how 9/11 is memorialized and who participates in that remembrance. It also underscores how a sacred site continues to become contested political terrain more than two decades after the attacks.
McDevitt's letter to Mamdani framed the request in terms of protecting the ceremony's sanctity. "For us, September 11 is not a political occasion, a photo opportunity, or a platform for public officials," he wrote. "It is a solemn day of remembrance for those who were murdered, those who responded, those who survived, and the families who have carried these losses for twenty-five years."
The union cited what it characterized as troubling statements and associations by Mamdani without detailing specifics in publicly available documents. McDevitt referenced "profound concerns" about the mayor's "public statements, political associations and positions," claiming these are "inconsistent with the sacrifice of victims and law enforcement officers."
News reports citing GOP lawmakers' criticism of Mamdani point to his voting record and past positions on policing, though the exact statements the union finds objectionable remain unclear from the union's formal correspondence.
The union suggested Mamdani mark the anniversary through a written statement or separate event. McDevitt's letter to Hochul took aim at a different target: the governor's decision to illuminate One World Trade Center during Muslim American Heritage Month. The union characterized this as "insensitive, tone-deaf, and an affront" to those who served at the site and victims' families, and claimed Hochul has "forfeited" her right to attend.
Hochul's office disputed the characterization, noting that Muslim New Yorkers served as first responders following the attacks and that the state can honor victims while opposing Islamophobia. A spokesperson said the governor "has enormous respect for all the families who lost loved ones on 9/11" and intends to "proudly stand alongside them" at the commemoration.
The National September 11 Memorial & Museum has established protocols aimed at keeping the annual ceremony apolitical: government officials attending do not deliver remarks and remain in designated areas.
The union's campaign has broader organizational backing. A petition launched in July by Giovanni Galante—whose wife, Grace Catherine Galante, was killed in the attacks—requesting Mamdani be barred from the ceremony has accumulated more than 95,000 signatures.
Former Biden administration official Michael LaRosa signed the petition and characterized Mamdani's presence as a "lightning rod" that would divert focus from victims. LaRosa's involvement signals the degree to which the dispute has drawn figures from Democratic Party circles into the fracture.
Mamdani has stated his intention to attend the ceremony and said he will "proudly honor" the families, survivors and first responders affected by the attacks. His office has not provided detailed responses to the specific concerns raised by the union or petition organizers.
The effort to exclude elected officials from public ceremonies raises questions about who determines access to commemorative spaces and on what grounds. What remains largely unexamined in the public record is the specific basis for the union's objections to Mamdani's attendance.
The controversy also reflects ongoing disagreements about how Ground Zero functions in civic life. Hochul's use of One World Trade Center for Muslim American Heritage Month raises questions about whether religious and cultural recognition can occur at sites of tragedy without being construed as political or insensitive.
As September 11 approaches, the National September 11 Memorial & Museum faces pressure to enforce boundaries it has established while accommodating demands from constituencies claiming ownership over how the anniversary is observed.
