John Feal credits Mamdani for transparency and says earlier disclosure could have meant far fewer deaths
John FealSeptember 11 first responder and founder and president of the FealGood Foundation, interviewed by CBS News
John Feal, a September 11 first responder and founder of the FealGood Foundation, told CBS News he attended the press conference and credited Mayor Mamdani for releasing the records after five administrations had not. He said the documents contained no smoking gun but confirmed what responders already knew. He said almost 10,000 people have died of September 11 related illness and that if officials had come clean the figure might have been about 3,600, noting that of 155,000 people in the World Trade Center Health Program more than 57,000 have a certified cancer.
“Kudos to the mayor for transparency. Five administrations now. But there was no smoking gun there. It was just smoldering facts that we knew that the air quality wasn't safe.”
Original video
Where this statement fits
Zohran Mamdani administration's release of post-9/11 air-quality and health records
The Mamdani administration released more than 170,000 pages of City records and settled litigation over post-September 11 air-quality and health records, prompting renewed debate about earlier disclosure, accountability, and support for affected people.
Source and context
Original video
About this source
The quoted wording is our transcription of the video audio; the speaker's identity and title are confirmed by the broadcaster's own video description. The segment also carries Jon Stewart's remark from the previous day's press conference that the city "only buried that information for 25 years," and separate questioning about Feal's criticism of the Health Secretary over World Trade Center Health Program staffing, which concerns a different dispute and is not recorded in this case.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
The city released more than 170,000 pages on September 8 and settled the related litigation. Mamdani said New Yorkers had got sick because the leaders they trusted lied.
After the quotation
In the same interview Feal criticised the Health Secretary over staffing and research funding for the World Trade Center Health Program, a separate matter not recorded in this case. Christine Todd Whitman defended her 2001 assurances in a statement the previous day.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
Feal endorses the release, crediting the mayor by contrast with five previous administrations, which supports the conduct under scrutiny. The closest competing label is condemns, since the bulk of his answer is angry about the concealment and its consequences. That loses because his criticism is directed at the officials who withheld the records rather than at the decision to release them, and this case is the release.
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- Zohran Mamdani
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Mamdani says it is time for this painful chapter to end as the city opens its September 11 records
“Administration after administration has ignored those calling for answers and clarity, instead choosing to bury them in legal arguments and in red tape. We will do no such thing. As we mark 25 years, it is time for this painful chapter to end.”Read statement
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The Dispute Index. "John Feal credits Mamdani for transparency and says earlier disclosure could have meant far fewer deaths". First published: 2026-09-18. Last updated: 2026-09-22. https://disputeindex.com/events/1084-john-feal-a-september-11-first-responder-and