A bitter dispute is erupting ahead of the 25th anniversary of the September 11 terror attacks, with retired Port Authority police officers and relatives of victims demanding that New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Gov. Kathy Hochul stay away from the annual Ground Zero memorial ceremony.

The Retired Port Authority Police Association says the political actions and positions of both officials have deeply angered members of the 9/11 community and warned that their attendance could distract from honoring the nearly 3,000 people murdered in the attacks.

Association president John McDevitt sent letters to Mamdani and Hochul on August 14 asking both officials not to attend the September 11 ceremony.

McDevitt stressed that the anniversary should remain focused exclusively on those murdered, the first responders who rushed into danger, survivors and families who have carried the loss for 25 years.

The issue is deeply personal for the association. Thirty-seven Port Authority police officers were killed in the attacks, along with 47 civilian employees of the Port Authority.

The association specifically cited Mamdani’s past rhetoric, political associations and public positions, saying they have generated “deep concerns” among members of the 9/11 community.

McDevitt warned Mamdani that his appearance at Ground Zero could cause additional grief to victims’ relatives and urged him to commemorate the anniversary through a written statement or separate event instead.

Opposition to Mamdani’s attendance has also spread beyond the retired officers. More than 95,000 people have signed an online petition launched by Giovanni Galante, whose wife, Grace Catherine Galante, was murdered in the attacks, calling for the mayor to be barred from the ceremony.

Mamdani, however, has said he intends to attend and pay his respects to victims’ families, survivors and first responders.

The association is separately demanding that Hochul stay away, citing her decision to illuminate One World Trade Center in recognition of Muslim American Heritage Month.

The retired officers stressed that they do not oppose celebrating Muslim heritage but objected to using One World Trade Center for the display because of the location’s unique connection to the September 11 attacks.

Hochul has rejected the demand and says she will attend the ceremony. Her office said she has enormous respect for families who lost loved ones on September 11 and defended the lighting decision, noting that Muslim New Yorkers were among the first responders who served following the attacks.

Nearly 3,000 people were murdered on September 11, 2001, when Al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing two into the World Trade Center, one into the Pentagon and a fourth into a field in Pennsylvania after passengers fought back.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)