New York City has released previously unseen documents that indicate officials harbored concerns about air quality in Manhattan following the collapse of the World Trade Center towers on September 11, 2001. Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced the release Tuesday, stating that the documents suggest that while the public was assured the environment at Ground Zero was safe, there were internal acknowledgments of toxic air.
"People got sick because the leaders they trusted lied and told them they were safe to breathe in toxic air," Mamdani said at a news conference, joined by survivors and advocate Jon Stewart. "Administration after administration has ignored those calling for answers and clarity. We will do no such thing."
The release is the result of a lawsuit filed by the advocacy group 9/11 Health Watch. City officials located 68 boxes of documents last year, after previously stating they were not in possession of them. Mamdani indicated that hundreds of thousands of pages of air quality reports will be made available through an online portal, coinciding with the 25th anniversary of the attacks. The city plans to allocate over $34 million for this initiative.
According to the mayor, the newly accessible documents reveal what the city knew about the toxic air around Ground Zero, when that knowledge was acquired, and how actions were taken to limit liability. He stated that asbestos was found "nearly everywhere" tested, with more documents to be released over the next year.
Stewart, a television host and 9/11 survivor advocate, commented at the press conference that the documents show the city did not recognize the air in downtown Manhattan as toxic until October 2001. He added sarcastically, "So to be fair to them, they only buried that information for 25 years."
Among the released documents is a file from October 2001, referred to as the "Harding Memo." In this memo, an aide warned former Deputy Mayor Robert Harding, who served under Mayor Rudy Giuliani, that the city could face as many as 35,000 legal claims due to its response to the attacks. The memo suggested the city could be sued if health advisories prompted individuals to return to the area prematurely, leading to toxic exposure or emotional harm.
In the days immediately following the attacks, city and federal officials, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), declared the air near the Twin Towers to be safe. However, subsequent research indicates that toxic chemicals were present in the air. Christine Todd Whitman, the EPA administrator at the time, later apologized for this declaration, stating the agency acted with the best knowledge available at that time.
Illnesses linked to the dust and smoke from the collapse of the Twin Towers have resulted in twice as many fatalities as the attacks themselves. Former New York Fire Department emergency medical technician Elizabeth Cascio recounted experiencing sinus issues and headaches after responding to the attacks, noting that responders were aware the air quality felt unsafe and toxic.