'Please Do Not Come': 9/11 Families Deliver 100,000-Signature Petition Urging NYC Mayor to Skip 25th Anniversary Memorial

A coalition of grieving families, first responders, and elected officials gathered at City Hall on Tuesday to deliver a clear message to Mayor Zohran Mamdani: stay away from Friday's 25th anniversary commemoration at Ground Zero. The petition, organized by a 9/11 widower, has garnered over 102,000 signatures — but the mayor says he will attend anyway .

NEW YORK — More than a dozen relatives of 9/11 victims stood on the steps of City Hall Tuesday, their voices trembling with emotion as they pleaded with Mayor Zohran Mamdani to skip this year's solemn anniversary ceremony at the World Trade Center .

"It's not about his religion or where he came from. It's about the policies he has today," said Cheri Sparacio, who lost her husband, Tom Sparacio, a currency trader working on the 84th floor of the South Tower .

The group hand-delivered a Change.org petition — started in July by Giovanni Galante, whose wife Grace Catherine Galante was killed in the North Tower — that has since amassed more than 102,000 signatures . The petition calls on Mamdani to forgo the emotion-filled ceremony, arguing that his presence would be a distraction from the sacred day of remembrance .

'He Just Wants to Be There Because He Wants to Be There'

Charles Wolf, whose wife Katherine Wolf was killed in the attack on the North Tower, said the ceremony has always been a private gathering for families to mourn — not a political stage .

"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 said . "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. Mayor Mamdani, please do not come" .

Monica Iken, who lost her husband of just 11 months, Michael Patrick Iken, a 37-year-old bond broker working on the 84th floor of the South Tower, echoed the sentiment .

"I don't know why he's so adamant about this one when we just ask that he respect us from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m.," Iken said .

Why the Outrage? The Pen, the Lawyer, and the Policies

The families' opposition stems from multiple grievances — chief among them Mamdani's appointment of Ramzi Kassem as the city's chief legal counsel .

Kassem, a law professor at CUNY, previously represented Ahmed al-Darbi, a convicted al-Qaeda operative who pleaded guilty to war crimes connected to the 2002 bombing of a French oil tanker off the coast of Yemen . Al-Darbi's sister was married to Khalid al-Mihdhar, one of the hijackers aboard American Airlines Flight 77, which crashed into the Pentagon on September 11, 2001 .

The controversy erupted last week when Mamdani signed two executive orders ahead of the 25th anniversary — one establishing September 11 as a "Citywide Day of Remembrance and Service," and another strengthening emergency preparedness . After signing the final document, Mamdani handed the ceremonial pen to NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch and whispered, "Can you pass this?" Tisch then awkwardly passed it to Kassem, who had slipped into the room late .

"It was calculated," retired detective and John Jay College of Criminal Justice adjunct professor Michael Alcazar told the New York Post . "It happened during a ceremony meant to be about the victims, and no one else. 9/11 families didn't come to City Hall to watch Mamdani spotlight someone whose work intersects with the very ideology that took their loved ones" .

Dennis Warchola, whose brother Michael — a firefighter with Ladder 5 — was killed in the North Tower, expressed fury . "How can you defend a guy like that who wants to do Americans or any innocent person harm?" 

Council Member Joann Ariola (R-Queens) called the move "breathtakingly tone-deaf and disrespectful" . Council Member Vicki Paladino (R-Queens) seethed: "Ramzi Kassem said he was inspired by 9/11 — not to join the fight against terrorism, but to defend the terrorists themselves. He doesn't even belong in this country, much less in our government" .

A Petition Rooted in Policy, Not Religion

The families have stressed repeatedly that their opposition has nothing to do with Mamdani's religion or background. Mamdani, a democratic socialist, is New York City's first Muslim mayor .

"This is not about his religion or where he came from. It's about the policies he has today," Cheri Sparacio reiterated .

The petition itself lists grievances including Mamdani's public positions, associations, and responses to rhetoric that many perceive as hostile to shared American values . It cites his ties to figures who have been accused of being dismissive of American institutions or insufficiently critical of extremist ideologies .

The petition also notes that Mamdani has blamed the United States for radicalizing Anwar al-Awlaki, an al-Qaeda propagandist linked to the 9/11 hijackers — a position critics have likened to "blaming victims rather than perpetrators" .

Giuliani Joins the Chorus — But Faces Accusations of Anti-Muslim Rhetoric

Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who led the city during the 2001 attacks, has added his voice to the growing chorus calling on Mamdani to stay away .

"Having lost friends there and being very close to many of the families, it offends me that he's going," Giuliani told Newsmax in an interview that aired Sunday .

However, Giuliani's comments have drawn criticism from some who view them as Islamophobic. During the interview, he claimed Mamdani "doesn't agree that September 11th was an Islamic terrorist attack on the United States of America" and made baseless assertions including "all the Muslims he supports are murderers" .

Mamdani declined to directly address Giuliani's comments .

Mamdani Vows to Attend — And Receives Support from Hochul and Schumer

Despite the backlash, Mamdani has made clear he intends to be at the Ground Zero ceremony on September 11 .

"I'm proud to be the mayor of this city. I love this city. I love this country. And what I want this week to be a focus on is on the families whose loved ones were stolen from them 25 years ago," Mamdani told reporters on Monday .

He will be the first Muslim mayor to attend the city's official 9/11 remembrance ceremony — a milestone that has been overshadowed by the controversy surrounding his administration's ties to figures associated with radical Islam .

The mayor has received support from fellow Democrats, including Gov. Kathy Hochul and Sen. Chuck Schumer .

"He absolutely should be there, he's the mayor of New York City," Hochul said . "I have the utmost respect for the small number of families but I think it could be more insulting to the vast majority if he did not come" .

Schumer echoed the sentiment: "9/11 affected all of us. I know three people who died. And so he should certainly come" .

A City Divided

As New York prepares to mark 25 years since the attacks, the city finds itself deeply divided over who belongs at Ground Zero — and who does not.

Later Tuesday, roughly 200 demonstrators gathered in front of the Democratic Socialists of America local chapter's Manhattan headquarters to further protest Mamdani's attendance .

Protester Shawn Michael told the New York Post that "it would be the worst political move" for Mamdani to show face at the 25th anniversary commemoration .

"Zohran Mamdani can have his day every other day of the year, but this day he should just leave it for the victims of 9/11," Michael said .

For the families, the message is simple: this day is not about politics.

"Our family members were killed and we don't want him there," Walter Matuza, whose father was killed in the North Tower, told reporters . "It's disrespectful" .