Retired Port Authority police officers are urging Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Gov. Kathy Hochul to abstain from attending the 25th anniversary of the September 11th ceremony. The Port Authority Retired Police Association, representing 600 members in New York and New Jersey, has sent letters stating that the presence of the two officials would cause "profound pain" to the 9/11 community and risk politicizing the solemn commemoration.
In a letter to Mamdani, the association's president, John McDevitt, stated, "We do not believe you have earned the privilege to stand at Ground Zero alongside us, the families, survivors, and our fellow first responders." The association cited Mamdani's "Israel-bashing rhetoric and affiliations that we believe have been hostile to law enforcement," as well as political statements perceived as sympathetic to anti-American movements.
A separate letter to Gov. Hochul was equally critical. McDevitt referred to the governor's decision to illuminate One World Trade Center in recognition of Muslim American Heritage Month as "tone deaf" and an "affront." The association argued that this action displayed a lack of concern or reverence for the fallen, leading them to believe she has "forfeited the privilege" of attending the ceremony.
Thirty-seven Port Authority Police Department officers died in the line of duty on September 11, 2001. A petition calling for Mamdani's absence from the Ground Zero memorial ceremony has also garnered over 95,000 signatures.
A spokesperson for Mamdani reiterated the mayor's intention to attend the commemoration to "proudly honor the families, the survivors, the first responders forever impacted by that horrific terror attack by standing alongside them."