9/11 Families Plan to Ignore ‘Spiteful’ Mamdani if He Shows Up at 25th Memorial Ceremony

Grief-stricken loved ones of 9/11 victims — who want Mayor Zohran Mamdani barred from attending the 25th memorial ceremony at Ground Zero — plan to ignore the "spiteful" socialist if he shows up, as more than 98,000 people have signed a petition demanding he stay away.

NEW YORK – As the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks approaches, a deeply personal and politically charged battle is unfolding at Ground Zero. Families of the 2,977 victims are planning to give Mayor Zohran Mamdani the cold shoulder if he attends Tuesday's memorial ceremony, viewing his presence as an affront to the solemnity of the day .

The tension has been building for months, with a Change.org petition organized by Giovanni Galante, whose wife Grace was killed in the North Tower, gathering over 98,000 signatures demanding the mayor be barred from the event . The petition will be hand-delivered to City Hall on Sept. 8 .

'He'll Show Up to Be Spiteful'

Relatives of those murdered in the deadliest terror attack on U.S. soil told The Post they will not engage with Mamdani if they spot him at the ceremony.

"He'll show up to be spiteful," said Angie Pesce, whose 34-year-old brother, Danny Pesce, was one of the 658 Cantor Fitzgerald employees killed in the North Tower .

Maureen Santora, 81, whose 23-year-old son Christopher, a firefighter with Engine 54, was killed in the South Tower, agreed that Mamdani isn't welcome. "I just hope that he doesn't say a single word because most of us will be very upset," the Queens mother said .

Jeanette Puccio-Pick, 34, who was only 9 when her father Joseph Pick, vice president of Fiduciary Trust International, perished on the 94th Floor of the South Tower, said the strongest act of protest against the mayor is silence.

"If the mayor shows up, that's his prerogative. I'm there to honor my father," she asserted. "I don't really want any politicians there, [unless they're] there in a civilian capacity. But with politicians, it's always a photo-op. The day is stressful enough" .

A Campaign Rooted in Controversy

The families' objections stem from Mamdani's past remarks and associations with figures they view as anti-American or sympathetic to extremism . The petition cites eight specific concerns, including the mayor's refusal to "clearly and unequivocally condemn phrases such as 'globalize the intifada,'" which many interpret as endorsing violence against Jews .

The petition also points to Mamdani's associations with individuals whose public records are viewed as dismissive of American values. These include his father, Mahmood Mamdani, who wrote a book after 9/11 arguing that suicide bombers should be "understood as a feature of modern political violence rather than stigmatized as a mark of barbarism" . The younger Mamdani has said his father was influential in shaping his views .

Additional concerns include Mamdani's praise for Brooklyn Imam Siraj Wahhaj, who was named as an alleged co-conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing , and his appointment of Ramzi Kassem, who previously represented a man convicted in an al-Qaeda tanker bombing plot, as New York City's chief counsel .

The petition organizer previously said he expects attendees to turn their back on Mamdani if he comes. "No one's going to be there saying, 'You can't come in.' No one's going to be arguing with him," Galante emphasized. "I know he likes to come in your face and try to say hello and shake your hand, but I would definitely ignore him" .

Bipartisan Support for the Families' Plea

Republican lawmakers have rallied behind the families. Senate Majority Leader John Thune told Fox News Digital: "I mean I can't defend anything that guy says or does" . Sen. John Kennedy joked: "It might be appropriate if he goes while wearing a paper bag over his head" .

Sen. Tim Sheehy called Mamdani "a disgrace and an embarrassment to the country" .

Former Republican Gov. George Pataki, who was in office during the 2001 attacks, has also called on Mamdani to skip the ceremony. "I think anyone who doesn't intentionally distance themselves from Hasan Piker, who has said that America deserved the attacks of September 11th, should not be there," Pataki told City & State, referencing the left-wing influencer and frequent Mamdani booster .

Mamdani Vows to Attend

Despite the growing outcry, Mamdani has insisted he will attend. "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 call this country home," he said in a statement .

Queens Republican Councilwoman Joann Ariola dismissed the mayor's recent executive orders — designating Sept. 11 as a day of remembrance and creating a "Never Forget" task force — as empty gestures. "This is all too late, and I believe that it's all just talk and there is no action because he is continuing to have Ramzi Kassem as his chief counsel. He does not denounce Hasan Piker. He will not denounce Globalize the Intifada and BDS — boycott, divestment and sanctions" .

A Solemn Ceremony Under a Cloud of Division

The 9/11 Memorial & Museum has said the annual ceremony has intentionally remained free of politics, with government officials attending to bear witness but not deliver remarks . However, the push to exclude a sitting mayor from the event is unprecedented .

The 25th anniversary of 9/11 was already expected to be an emotionally charged day of remembrance. Now, with a sitting mayor at the center of a divisive controversy, the ceremony at Ground Zero may become a stage for silent protest and deep political division, testing how a city scarred by the worst terror attack in U.S. history chooses to mourn — and whom it allows to stand alongside its grieving families.