Vos Iz NeiasNYC Releases 170,000 Pages of 9/11 Records Ahead of 25th Anniversary
NEW YORK (VINnews) – New York City is releasing more than 170,000 pages of records documenting the city’s response to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, including documents concerning air quality and health risks around the World Trade Center.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced the release Tuesday, ahead of the 25th anniversary of the attacks. The records are being made available through the city’s first public portal dedicated to 9/11 records.
The initial release includes the so-called Harding Memo, records from 68 boxes that city officials say were not located until 2025 despite previous Freedom of Information Law requests, and documents concerning World Trade Center 7.
The records include air-quality reports, contamination information and internal city correspondence. A review by The New York Times found that health officials continued detecting asbestos in areas as far as a half-mile from Ground Zero 10 months after the attacks, despite public assurances at the time about air safety.
The city said the documents were previously unavailable to the public and that additional records will be reviewed and released over the next year, with personal information redacted when necessary.
The release also settles two lawsuits brought by 9/11 Health Watch seeking access to city records. Under the agreement, the city expects to make hundreds of thousands of additional pages available as the review continues.
The Mamdani administration said it will assign personnel at the Department of Citywide Administrative Services and New York City Public Schools to help New Yorkers obtain records needed to establish their presence in the city’s 9/11 Exposure Zone and seek benefits through the World Trade Center Health Program and the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund.
The city’s FY2027 budget includes $34 million to create and maintain the public records portal.
The release is expected to provide new information about what city officials knew about environmental conditions after the attacks and how the city responded as health concerns grew.