Zohran Mamdani
Role at the time: Mayor of New York City
Statement summary
Zohran Mamdani said at the city's September 8 announcement that administration after administration had met calls for answers about the September 11 attacks with legal arguments and red tape, and that his administration would not. He said the city had settled two lawsuits with 9/11 Health Watch and was committing more than $34 million to a public portal whose first release posted 170,000 pages.
“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.”
Official transcript, with separately identified speakers. Praise concerns disclosure, not every policy of the mayor. The date is known. Later releases were announced plans.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Why we used this label
The case concerns the Mamdani administration's September 8 release of post-9/11 air-quality and health records and the settlement of two lawsuits with 9/11 Health Watch. Mamdani said earlier administrations met calls for answers with legal arguments and red tape, that his administration would not, and that it was time for this painful chapter to end. We record this as defending the release because he presents it as the right course and announces the portal and settlement as his administration's action. Challenged the characterization is the closest competing label; it loses because he is not disputing anyone's description of the release.