Mamdani Faces 7,000-Firefighter Backlash at 9/11 Event as 100,000 Sign Petition
Updated
Updated · Vanity Fair · Sep 8
Mamdani Faces 7,000-Firefighter Backlash at 9/11 Event as 100,000 Sign Petition
3 articles · Updated · Vanity Fair · Sep 8
Summary
Up to 7,000 current and former FDNY members are set to gather Sept. 9 on Staten Island, where City Hall expects Mayor Zohran Mamdani to be booed even though he will not speak.
A petition urging Mamdani to skip 9/11 ceremonies had topped 100,000 signatures by Tuesday, fueled by anger over his past comments, associations and refusal during the campaign to explicitly condemn “globalize the intifada.”
The tension follows an early-August Staten Island appearance where profane heckling cut Mamdani off after 26 seconds, while Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman has urged Ground Zero attendees to turn their backs on him.
Mamdani has tried to lower the temperature by visiting seven firehouses, releasing long-withheld Ground Zero air-quality documents and honoring 36 firefighters added to an FDNY memorial wall for World Trade Center-related illnesses.
Staten Island’s politics and 9/11 losses sharpen the stakes: Trump carried the borough by 30 points in 2024, and 78 of the 343 firefighters killed on Sept. 11 were Staten Islanders.
As protests loom over tomorrow's Staten Island 9/11 memorial, will the focus remain on fallen firefighters or the controversial mayoral attendance?
How will the stark contrast between physical memorials and the unfolding generational health crisis reshape our understanding of the 9/11 tragedy?
With thousands dying from post-9/11 illnesses, could releasing withheld Ground Zero air quality documents finally expand critical health coverage for responders?