As New York prepares for the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, public attention is already turning to who will be present at the city’s most closely watched memorial observance. In New York City, that focus narrowed this week to Mayor Zohran Mamdani after some relatives of victims said he should not attend the annual Ground Zero ceremony. The dispute centers on a petition drive and public statements from family members who said Mamdani’s record makes his appearance inappropriate at the remembrance.
Families launch petition over Mamdani’s attendance
A group of 9/11 relatives began circulating a petition on July 25 calling on organizers to bar Mamdani from the 25th anniversary ceremony at the National September 11 Memorial, according to reporting by the New York Post and follow-up coverage by CBS New York. CBS New York reported on July 27 that the petition had drawn thousands of signatures and included some victims’ family members. Separate follow-up reports citing the petition organizers said signers included relatives connected to roughly 300 victims.
One of the organizers, widow Cheri Sparacio, said there were “so many other examples” of why Mamdani should be excluded that “we couldn’t fit them on the list,” a remark carried in coverage of the petition drive. Another organizer, Giovanni Galante, said the objection was based on Mamdani’s public record, his statements, and his associations, according to CBS New York’s account of the campaign. Organizers have framed the memorial as a family-centered ceremony rather than a routine civic appearance.
The confirmed scale of support remains limited to what organizers and news outlets have publicly reported. No independent public accounting of all signatures has been released, and organizers have not published a full verified list of signatories tied to victims’ families. What is established is that the petition effort became public on July 25 and quickly moved into wider local and national coverage over the following two days.
The immediate impact is local and specific to Lower Manhattan, where the annual Sept. 11 ceremony remains one of New York City’s most symbolically important public events. The dispute concerns the 2026 observance, which will mark 25 years since the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people on Sept. 11, 2001. Reuters photo coverage shows Mamdani attended the 24th anniversary ceremony in 2025, before he was sworn in as mayor on Jan. 1, 2026.
What is not yet known is whether any organizer with formal authority over the ceremony intends to restrict his attendance. Public reporting reviewed so far documents the petition and the objections from some relatives, but it does not establish that the 9/11 Memorial & Museum or city officials have announced any change to attendance protocol. A full list of affected invitees or participants has not been released.
Mamdani has publicly responded to questions about the petition, according to local and national media reports published July 27. But the available reporting does not show any formal decision by ceremony organizers as of Tuesday, July 28, 2026. For New Yorkers, the current situation is a political and emotional dispute around the event, not a confirmed change in how the anniversary ceremony will be conducted.
The reasons cited by petition organizers are tied to Mamdani’s politics, prior public comments, and associations with other figures, according to CBS New York and other reports summarizing the petition language. Organizers said they view some of those positions as incompatible with the tone and purpose of a Sept. 11 remembrance. Their argument, as presented in public statements, is that the ceremony should reflect what they describe as shared American values and an unambiguous condemnation of the ideologies behind the attacks.
The dispute is also unfolding in a larger political environment around Mamdani, who has drawn strong reactions as a high-profile New York elected official. Some coverage and public commentary have cast the petition as part of a broader ideological fight over his views on Israel, Palestine, and extremism. Other reporting has noted that critics have focused on remarks by Mamdani and writings or statements associated with people around him, though no single public document provides a comprehensive list of every complaint.
For residents, the practical takeaway is that the Sept. 11 ceremony is still expected to proceed at Ground Zero while debate continues over who should stand among officials and families. As of now, the public record confirms the petition campaign, the objections from some relatives, and the absence of any announced final ruling on Mamdani’s attendance. That leaves the 25th anniversary observance on course, with one unresolved question now attached to a ceremony that is typically defined by ritual and remembrance.