Remembering 9/11: A Reflection from NYC Mayor

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani shared a heartfelt video commemorating the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, describing it as “a day of immeasurable loss.”

In a video posted on X, Mamdani is shown seated at his outdoor desk, reflecting on how, even though the 9/11 attack is often labeled the “darkest day” in New York City’s history, there are also significant acts of compassion that arose from that tragedy.

“September 11th was a horrific act of terror,” he expressed. “A day of immeasurable loss, 2,753 parents and children, husbands and wives, friends and colleagues — 2,753 universes that disappeared in an instant. In the ensuing years, countless others have succumbed to illnesses linked to the toxic air they inhaled while working at Ground Zero.”

Mamdani elaborated on the community spirit that emerged after the attacks, mentioning how many New Yorkers “lined up for hours to donate blood,” and how others “opened their doors to those stranded.”

“We remember the countless New Yorkers who stood in long lines to give blood. We honor those who welcomed individuals into their homes when they couldn’t return. We remember the brave workers who carried their colleagues down flights of stairs, only to head back up to find more people in need of assistance,” he said. “Twenty-five years later, we hold a sacred duty to honor those taken from us: to support each other as they once did, to lead lives deserving of their sacrifices, and to construct a city reflective of their bravery — a city in which we move towards one another. That is how we choose to remember.”

Reports indicate that Jeannette Puccio-Pick, whose father was killed during the attacks, was part of a group of 9/11 relatives who voiced their concern over Mamdani attending the 25th anniversary commemorations.

Puccio-Pick conveyed her feelings in a statement, saying, “The mayor has aligned himself politically, personally, and professionally with those who have downplayed and justified the murder of my father.”

She mentioned that Mamdani first garnered her attention during the 2025 mayoral race. This was when he campaigned with a controversial Brooklyn imam, Siraj Wahhaj, and praised him as “one of the nation’s foremost Muslim leaders and a pillar of the Bed-Stuy community.”

Wahhaj was previously identified by federal prosecutors as an unindicted co-conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and later testified as a character witness for Omar Abdel-Rahman, the man convicted for planning terrorist activities in New York.

Puccio-Pick shared her mixed feelings regarding the remembrance of the attacks. She expressed gratitude that people are not forgetting, but also conveyed a sense of being unable to escape its constant presence. “I’m glad people are never forgetting,” she remarked. “But at the same point, I feel like I can’t escape it. It’s everywhere.”