Retired Port Authority officers urge NYC mayor and governor to skip 9/11 anniversary ceremony
Retired members of the Port Authority Police Association have written letters demanding that Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Governor Kathy Hochul stay away from the 25th-anniversary 9/11 ceremony, saying their presence would cause pain to survivors and families.
The Port Authority Retired Police Association, with roughly 600 former officers, has formally asked Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Governor Kathy Hochul to refrain from attending the 25th-anniversary 9/11 ceremony. In an August 11 letter, President John McDevitt argued that Mamdani’s past remarks about Israel and perceived hostility toward law enforcement disqualify him from sharing the memorial platform. The group’s correspondence to Hochul denounced her decision to light One World Trade Center in conjunction with a proclamation of Muslim American Heritage Month, labeling it insensitive to those who served at the site.
The association warned that the officials’ presence could convert the day of remembrance into a partisan controversy and cause deep distress to the 9/11 community. The demand follows a petition that has attracted more than 95,000 signatures calling for Mamdani’s absence. Hochul’s office has not responded, while a Mamdani spokesperson affirmed the mayor’s intention to honor families, survivors, and first responders at the event. Thirty-seven Port Authority Police Department officers died on 9/11.
Why it matters
The letters reflect ongoing tensions over how political leaders should participate in solemn national commemorations.
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