Families Of 9/11 Victims Send Blistering Warning Message To Mamdani

The message from a group of grieving 9/11 families to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani could hardly be more direct:

Stay away from Ground Zero.

With New York preparing to mark 25 years since the September 11 terrorist attacks, relatives of those murdered that day are publicly urging Mamdani not to attend the solemn memorial ceremony — and nearly 100,000 people have reportedly signed a petition backing their demand.

Families gathered outside City Hall Tuesday to deliver the petition and make their case directly.

For Charles Wolf, whose wife was killed on 9/11, this isn’t about political theater. It’s about who belongs beside the families as they relive one of the most horrific days of their lives.

“This mayor is not serving us,” said Charles Wolf, whose wife was killed on 9/11. “He’s serving himself. We are asking respectfully that he not show up, even though there is going to be other politicians there. These are the politicians that helped us push beneficial laws through and literally held our hand during that time. Mayor Mamdani has not shown any of that, none of it.”

Wolf then delivered the message directly to Mamdani.

“He just wants to be there because he wants to be there. So we are asking him to respect the fact that that trauma is revived during the ceremony. It is a private ceremony. It is not a public ceremony.” Wolf finished, “Mayor Mamdani, please do not come.”

Families Draw a Line

Giovanni Galante, who lost his 29-year-old wife, Grace, when terrorists attacked the World Trade Center, organized the effort.

Galante and other relatives have explicitly said their opposition has nothing to do with Mamdani being Muslim.

Their objection, they say, centers on his political record and his refusal to distance himself forcefully enough from activists and rhetoric they view as hostile to the United States.

“We’re not against Muslims; we’re not against Jews; we’re not against anyone,” Galante previously said. “We’re against people who are against America.”

The controversy surrounding Mamdani includes his refusal to condemn the phrase “globalize the intifada.”

Critics have also seized on his relationship with left-wing streamer Hasan Piker, who previously said America “deserved” the September 11 attacks.

Mamdani has also appeared alongside Brooklyn imam Siraj Wahhaj, whom federal prosecutors named as an unindicted co-conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.

For families who will return to Ground Zero this week to hear the names of their murdered loved ones read aloud, those controversies have become impossible to ignore.

Mamdani Says He’s Going Anyway

Despite the extraordinary request from victims’ relatives, Mamdani has given no indication that he intends to stay away.

The mayor confirmed Monday that he plans to attend the main Ground Zero memorial ceremony as well as several other events Friday.

Mamdani has said he wants attention during the week focused on the families who lost loved ones and the first responders who ran toward the danger. His office has also said he intends to stand with those forever affected by the attack and reaffirm the country’s promise never to forget.

But some families aren’t buying it.

Several relatives say that if Mamdani appears, they plan to turn their backs on him or simply refuse to interact with him.

Galante stressed that the families aren’t planning to confront the mayor or physically block him from attending.

Instead, some intend to send their message through silence.

Angie Pesce, whose brother Danny was among the 658 Cantor Fitzgerald employees killed in the North Tower, has accused Mamdani of attending out of spite.

Maureen Santora lost her 23-year-old firefighter son, Christopher, in the South Tower. She said she hopes Mamdani does not speak during the service.

Giuliani Joins The Call

The backlash isn’t limited to victims’ relatives.

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who led the city through the September 11 attacks and their immediate aftermath, has also called on Mamdani to stay away.

Giuliani said the mayor’s planned attendance “offends” him.

But the fight has exposed a sharp divide.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul defended Mamdani’s decision to attend, arguing that his absence could offend other 9/11 families.

September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows has also defended Mamdani’s right to be there, accusing his opponents of improperly injecting politics into the memorial.

Days before the anniversary, Mamdani signed executive orders declaring September 11 an annual “Day of Remembrance and Service” and establishing a task force aimed at strengthening New York City’s emergency preparedness.

Republican Councilwoman Joann Ariola, who joined families outside City Hall, dismissed those actions as empty gestures that came only after public pressure mounted.

25 Years Later, The Wounds Remain

The September 11 attacks killed 2,977 people in New York City, at the Pentagon and near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

Friday’s ceremony will mark a quarter-century since that morning.

As it has for years, the ceremony will include the reading of victims’ names and moments of silence marking the attacks and the collapse of the Twin Towers.

For the families gathering at Ground Zero, however, 25 years have not erased the trauma.

And now, as one of America’s most solemn anniversaries approaches, some of those families are making an extraordinary request of the mayor of the city that suffered the greatest loss.

Their message doesn’t require interpretation.

“Mayor Mamdani, please do not come.”