NYC launches $3.81 million probe into mayoral knowledge of 9/11 Ground Zero toxins
The Department of Investigation has hired Epstein Becker & Green to examine what city mayors knew about toxic dust after the 9/11 attacks.
New York City’s top investigative agency has contracted law firm Epstein Becker & Green to conduct a two-year, $3.81 million fact-finding mission into the knowledge of mayoral administrations about toxic dust generated by the September 2001 attacks. The Department of Investigation will scrutinize records from the Giuliani, Bloomberg, de Blasio and Eric Adams eras to determine what officials understood about environmental risks at Ground Zero and whether they concealed that information.
The review fulfills a City Council resolution passed in July 2025 and coincides with the public release of nearly 170,000 pages of health-related documents, among them an October 2001 memo revealing early concerns. Environmental advocates have long alleged that city leaders misled the public, while EPA’s declaration on September 18, 2001 that the air was safe provided legal protection for the city. Michael Barasch, representing tens of thousands of health program claimants, doubts the investigation will open massive litigation but stresses the need for transparency about who knew the air was unsafe. The probe aims to produce a report for the City Council outlining its findings.
Why it matters
Clarifying past officials' awareness of 9/11 air hazards impacts public health accountability and future emergency policies.
How this story developed
- Aug 28 Forgotten Lessons of 9/11 Fuel Growing Islamist Influence in U.S. Politics
- Sep 10 The footage begins with Kiernan reporting on weather, local elections and a Whitney Houston concert cancellation before a plume of smoke appears over the North Tower. He then receives a call from witness George Shay, who describes hearing explosions and seeing a large tire on the street. As the broadcast continues, Kiernan announces that a plane has struck the tower, and later confirms a second plane hitting the South Tower, noting the massive loss of life that would follow.
- Sep 10 Mayor Mamdani settled two lawsuits that had limited public access to the 9/11 air‑quality records.
- Sep 10 The city is preparing its traditional memorial service at the former World Trade Center site, which normally includes six silent pauses for key moments of the attacks. This year a seventh pause will be added to honor the thousands who succumbed to illnesses linked to the disaster long after the event. Officials note that many first-responders and survivors continue to suffer health problems, and a long-term health program was created in 2011 to provide ongoing care. Retired police lieutenant Thomas Wilson, who worked at Ground Zero, is among those whose cancers have been attributed to the attacks.
- Sep 11 The ceremony will feature a seventh silent moment for the first time.
- Sep 11 Donald Trump will join a ceremony at the Pentagon on Friday to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks.
- Sep 11 The focus of coverage has moved from the immediate details of the attacks to journalists’ personal recollections.
- Sep 11 Trump chose to speak at the Pentagon ceremony while JD Vance attended the New York memorial.
- Sep 11 The CIA released 71 presidential briefings that warned President George W. Bush of al-Qaeda’s intent to strike the United States just weeks before the September 11 attacks.
- Sep 11 Bush shared his 2001 Yankees pitch memory at the Bush Center.
- Sep 12 The Trump administration announced the declassification of the briefing documents.
- Sep 12 A new segment was added to the memorial ceremony to honor victims who later died from illness.
- Sep 12 A minute of silence was observed at Ground Zero, with an extra minute added for later dust‑related deaths.
- Sep 14 New York’s Muslim community has organized public prayers in Times Square as a sign of its growing presence.
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