Families of victims killed in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks have launched a petition calling for Mayor Zohran Mamdani to be excluded from this year's 25th anniversary commemorations at Ground Zero.
The Change.org petition, organized by Giovanni Galante — whose wife, Grace Catherine Galante, was among the 2,977 people murdered that day — and co-organizer Cheri Sparacio, argues that the mayor's public record and associations make his presence incompatible with the solemn purpose of the ceremony.
As of July 29, the petition had gathered more than 40,000 signatures, per KFI News. Organizers have told reporters that at least 300 of those signers are victims' family members, but that figure is an estimate, not a verified count. In an interview with Popular Information, Galante acknowledged “we don't have a list” of family-member signers, saying the 300 figure was based on his sense of how the petition spread through people he personally knows who lost relatives on 9/11. Change.org's “verified signature” label confirms only that signers are real people — not that they are related to a 9/11 victim.
Keep it going New Yorkers https://t.co/xBMIgWNzYG
— Patricia Heaton (@PatriciaHeaton) July 27, 2026
Galante and Sparacio cite several concerns: Mamdani's reluctance to clearly and unequivocally condemn the phrase “globalize the intifada,” his associations with individuals whose records or statements they view as dismissive of the attacks or insufficiently critical of extremist ideologies, and specific appointments and endorsements they find troubling. Among the points raised is the hiring of Ramzi Kassem — who served as lead defense counsel for Ahmed al-Darbi, an al-Qaeda operative convicted in the 2002 bombing of the French oil tanker Limburg — as the city's chief counsel, per The New York Sun.
“The 25th anniversary should remain centred on remembrance, unity, and an unambiguous rejection of the violence and extremism that defined that day,” the petition states. Organizers describe Mamdani's potential attendance as making him an “unwelcome guest” at a deeply personal ceremony for the families most directly affected.
Mamdani has rejected the call to stay away. “I will proudly honor the families, the survivors, the first responders forever impacted by that horrific terror attack, by standing alongside them at this year's 9/11 commemoration — reaffirming that we will never forget the solemn day felt by all of us who call this city home, and frankly, by all of us who call this country home,” he said.