The fight puts a solemn New York commemoration in the middle of a political dispute over who gets to stand with victims’ families. Organizers of the ceremony say elected officials attend only to bear witness.
A petition against Zohran Mamdani has passed 20,000 signatures. Mamdani is refusing to back down in response. The online petition, started by 9/11 family members, asks organizers to keep the New York City mayor from attending the 25th 9/11 remembrance ceremony, and CBS News New York reported Tuesday morning that it had more than 23,000 signatures.
The dispute matters because the anniversary ceremony is designed as a solemn civic ritual, not a campaign stage. But the petition signers say Mamdani’s presence would be painful and inappropriate; Mamdani says he plans to honor families, survivors and first responders by standing alongside them.
Why the petition targets Mamdani
The petition was started by Giovanni Galante, a 9/11 widower, along with a woman who also lost her husband in the attacks, according to CBS News New York. Galante’s wife, Grace Catherine Galante, was 29 and worked on the 105th floor of the north tower.
Galante told the station that he believed Mamdani’s attendance would show disrespect to families “because of the people he supports.” The petition asks organizers of the 25th remembrance ceremony to carefully consider whether Mamdani should participate.
The document, as quoted by CBS, says concerns have been raised about Mamdani’s “public positions, associations, and responses to rhetoric that many perceive as hostile.” It also questions his affiliation with people it says have been accused of being anti-American, including his father.
Those are the claims driving the petition, but they are also politically charged claims. The petition reflects the view of its organizers and supporters, not a finding by the 9/11 Memorial & Museum or the city.
Families split over the demand
Some family members and advocates who signed the petition say the 25th anniversary should be protected from anyone they believe could distract from remembrance. Monica Iken Murphy, who lost her husband Michael on 9/11, told CBS that families want time for themselves and do not want “someone just coming in” who was not there.
9/11 advocate John Feal also criticized Mamdani’s attendance, saying that until the mayor does “something proactive for the 9/11 community,” he should remain at City Hall.
But the opposition is not universal. Dennis McKeon, an organizer of a 9/11 survivor group on Staten Island, told CBS he did not see the wisdom in trying to keep Mamdani away. He noted that mayors and governors have attended past ceremonies even when families believed they had not done enough for the 9/11 community.
That split is important. The petition has gained a large number of signatures, but it does not speak for every survivor, family member or New Yorker with a connection to the attacks.
Mamdani’s answer was direct
Asked by CBS News New York about the movement to keep him away, Mamdani said he intends to attend the commemoration.
“I will proudly honor the families, the survivors, the first responders forever impacted by that horrific terror attack by standing alongside them at this year’s 9/11 commemoration,” Mamdani said, according to the station.
He added that he would be “reaffirming that we will never forget the solemn day felt by all of us who call this city home and, frankly, by all of us who called this country home.”
That response is the refusal to back down at the center of the controversy. Mamdani is framing attendance as an official act of remembrance, while petition organizers are framing it as an affront to people still grieving.
The ceremony has strict norms
The 9/11 Memorial & Museum has long tried to keep the annual commemoration focused on the victims and their families. In response to the dispute, the museum told CBS in part that it has “intentionally worked to keep the commemoration free of politics.”
The museum also noted that government officials from across the political spectrum have attended the ceremony “simply to bear witness.” That distinction matters: elected officials may be present, but the ceremony is not structured as a political speaking event.
According to CBS, the museum spokesperson said politicians do not deliver remarks and are asked to remain in a designated area. That arrangement is meant to reduce the chance that any one official becomes the focus of the day.
Still, presence alone can carry meaning. For petition supporters, Mamdani’s attendance would be a statement whether or not he speaks. For his defenders, excluding a sitting mayor would politicize the ceremony in a different way.
What the signature count shows
The petition’s signature count gives the campaign visibility, especially because it crossed the 20,000 mark and was reported at more than 23,000 by Tuesday morning. Online petitions can move quickly when they attach a specific demand to an emotionally powerful anniversary.
But signatures do not automatically decide access to a public remembrance ceremony. The petition asks organizers to reconsider Mamdani’s participation; it does not itself have the force to bar him.
The organizers’ next step may be political. CBS reported that they plan to ask the City Council for help, though it remains unclear what action, if any, council members could or would take.
The larger question is whether officials overseeing the ceremony treat this as a security, protocol or public-pressure issue. So far, the public position from the memorial side emphasizes continuity: elected officials attend, do not speak, and remain in designated areas.
A solemn day under pressure
The 25th anniversary of 9/11 carries unusual weight. For many families, milestone anniversaries sharpen grief rather than soften it, and disputes over who belongs in the room can become deeply personal.
At the same time, New York’s mayor is typically part of the city’s official presence at civic memorials. Removing or discouraging a mayor from attending would be a significant break from the usual role of city leadership at public commemorations.
That is the tension now surrounding Mamdani: a petition campaign rooted in the pain and objections of some 9/11 families, a mayor insisting he will stand with those affected, and memorial organizers trying to keep politics from overtaking the ceremony.
What remains unclear is whether the petition’s growing support will change any official plans. For now, Mamdani says he will attend, and the ceremony’s organizers are signaling that the day’s focus should stay where it has always been: on the victims, survivors, families and first responders.
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