NEW YORK — As the United States commemorates 25 years since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, a controversy surrounding New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has added a political dimension to an otherwise solemn week of remembrance.
Nearly 3,000 people were killed in the attacks, and ceremonies across the country on Friday brought together victims’ families, survivors, first responders and current and former national leaders. In New York, Vice President JD Vance and former presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Joe Biden joined other dignitaries at the World Trade Center memorial.
But attention had already turned to Mamdani days earlier after a ceremonial signing at City Hall.
On Sept. 4, Mamdani signed executive orders establishing Sept. 11 as an annual citywide Day of Remembrance and Service and updating the city’s emergency continuity and preparedness procedures. The mayor’s office said the measures were designed to honor victims, first responders, survivors and affected families while strengthening the city’s ability to maintain essential services during future emergencies.
The controversy centered on what happened after the signing.
Mamdani handed the ceremonial pen to NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, who then passed it to the mayor’s chief counsel, Ramzi Kassem. Kassem has previously represented detainees held at Guantánamo, including Ahmed al-Darbi, who pleaded guilty before a military commission to terrorism-related charges connected to the 2002 bombing of the French oil tanker MV Limburg.
Critics, including some 9/11 relatives and New York City council members, argued that the symbolism of the handoff was inappropriate given the anniversary. The criticism focused on the ceremonial gesture rather than the substance of the executive orders.
Mamdani’s administration has said Kassem participated because his office helped draft the orders as part of his official responsibilities.
Importantly, Kassem’s representation of detainees was performed in his capacity as an attorney and does not, by itself, establish support for a client’s conduct or ideology.
As New York marked the anniversary, Mamdani continued participating in memorial events, including ceremonies honoring those killed on Sept. 11 and those who later died from related illnesses.
The dispute has underscored how, 25 years later, even symbolic moments surrounding 9/11 remain intensely scrutinized.
