‘Everyone knew’: Zohran Mamdani releases 170K pages of 9/11 records revealing ‘disturbing’ aftermath
WASHINGTON, DC: New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani has released more than 170,000 pages of previously undisclosed 9/11 records that he says show city officials knew conditions around Ground Zero were unsafe even as the public received assurances about air quality.
Nearly 3,000 people were killed on 9/11, but thousands more, including first responders who spent months working at the site, have since died from 9/11-related cancers and other illnesses.
New document reveals NY officials lied about Ground Zero reality
As per the documents, officials knew that the air quality following the September 11, 2001, attacks and conditions around Ground Zero were unsafe to breathe despite repeated assurances to the public.
Zohran Mamdani announced the release of the document by holding a press conference on Tuesday, September 8.
“As the years pass and the human toll grows, we reckon with the cost of September 11th whenever another New Yorker is stolen from us too soon,” Mamdani said.
“Now, close to 25 years later, more people have died from 9/11-related illnesses than were killed on the day itself.”
To help the affected people fight the disease developed due to the toxic environment caused by the catastrophic event, a federal healthcare program, the World Trade Center (WTC) Health Program, was established.
The program provides no-cost medical monitoring and treatment for certified physical and mental health conditions related to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
As per the 9/11 Memorial, at least 140,000 people from all 50 states have enrolled in the World Trade Center Health Program, and 49,000 have been diagnosed with certified WTC-related cancers.
Notably, when the WTC fund was created in 2011 by Congress, cancer was not on the list of diseases to receive no-cost medical monitoring and treatment. Cancer was added to the list in 2012 after a fight by advocates and a study showing elevated cancer rates among New York firefighters at Ground Zero.
Officials knew they would receive lawsuits originating from toxic air
During the press conference, Mamdani said that more people are eligible for assistance than are currently enrolled, including residents who lived near the site but have not received outreach and those who live outside of New York.
In the document released, a fraction of the air quality reports taken at Ground Zero is included. The document also contains crucial internal memos, including what became known as the “Harding Memo” sent to then-Deputy Mayor Robert Harding.
As per this particular document, city officials knew they would receive thousands of lawsuits due to the 9/11 air exposure and the lack of proper safety equipment.
“People got sick because the leaders they trusted lied and told them they were safe to breathe in toxic air,” Mamdani said.
When asked whether the years-long delay in releasing the documents was a “cover-up,” the mayor said, “This was multiple mayoral administrations refusing to release documents that New Yorkers were owed.”
