9/11 memorial service should be about remembrance, not politics, Mamdani says

By Marcia Kramer Marcia Kramer Marcia Kramer joined CBS News New York in 1990 as an investigative and political reporter. Prior to CBS2, she was the City Hall bureau chief at the New York Daily News. Read Full Bio September 3, 2026 / 5:55 PM EDT / CBS New York Add CBS News on Google This year's 9/11 memorial service will be Zohran Mamdani's first as mayor of New York City. He says he views it as an "enormous responsibility" at a very somber time, and he wants to make sure the day is about those who were killed, not politics. "It's about those that were killed that day. It's about their families. It's about the lives that have been shattered. And when you go through the museum, you see in those portraits an entire city. You see the breadth of what makes this city New York," Mamdani said, "and on these anniversaries, you have an opportunity to recognize those, to remember those."The mayor said he wants to ensure Sept. 11, 2026, which marks 25 years since the attacks, is a day of solemn remembrance of those who died."That we gather together, not as individuals, but as New Yorkers, with love of that same city that they sought to protect," Mamdani said. "Now it is a responsibility that we hold to not only never forget, but also to live up to the courage that they showed on that day."As thousands of people continue to suffer from 9/11-related illnesses, there have been calls for documents about the attacks to be released."If there are documents that we are able to release, I think that they should always be released," Mamdani said. The fiscal year 2027 city budget allocates $34.2 million toward the creation of a public online portal for 9/11-related documents."They can type in their keywords. They can look through these documents," Mamdani said. "Because I think what's frustrated many is the sense that, is there more to know? And the reason we wanted to put millions of dollars behind this is, take those documents, make them searchable. Make them accessible."On Sept. 11, 2001, the FDNY and NYPD struggled with significant communication problems."I think that our emergency services personnel deserve the best equipment, and I have been consistent about the fact that this is a place where we should have alignment at a federal level, at a state level, at a local level," Mamdani said. "The least we can do for people who are running towards the very dangers that many run away from is to make sure that they have the best possible equipment." In the wake of the terror attacks, then-NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly set up an anti-terrorism program that included having informants in locations such as mosques. So would Mamdani support expanding surveillance activities in the city if the NYPD said it thought it was necessary to prevent an attack?"I firmly believe that we can keep this city safe while also respecting the rights of the people of this city," he said. "And what we have seen in the past has, at times, been an attempt to paint people as suspicious on the basis of just their religion or their faith. That to me is not acceptable. However, what I'm proud of our NYPD for doing today is respecting those rights and delivering on that public safety."New York City remains the No. 1 terror target in the nation, so what would the mayor do if there was credible information about an attack?"The first thing I would do is sit down with my police commissioner and all of the top brass and work through exactly what the threat is, how we can ensure that it never materializes and how we keep New Yorkers safe," Mamdani said. In: 9/11 Zohran Mamdani