New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani will attend Friday's annual Ground Zero remembrance ceremony despite a petition, bearing roughly 110,000 signatures including those of September 11 victims' relatives, asking him to stay home. The event, hosted by the 9/11 Memorial & Museum and set to begin at 8:30 a.m., is invitation-only. Vice President JD Vance and former presidents Joe Biden, Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush are also expected to attend.
The petition centers on Mamdani's appointment of Ramzi Kassem as the city's chief legal counsel. Kassem previously represented Ahmed al-Darbi, an al Qaeda operative who pleaded guilty to war-crimes charges. The petition describes the ceremony as "a deeply personal day of mourning" for 9/11 families and calls for all participants to reflect "an unambiguous rejection of the violence and extremism that defined that day."
Tensions around the appointment grew sharper after Mamdani handed a ceremonial pen, used to sign 9/11-related executive orders, to NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch and asked her to pass it to Kassem. Critics on social media characterized the exchange as an affront to families of those killed in the attacks.
Mamdani has defended his attendance, saying he wants the week focused on families whose loved ones were "stolen from them 25 years ago" in what he called a "horrific act of terror," and on the first responders who answered the attacks.
Former New York Governor George Pataki and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani have added their voices to those calling for Mamdani to skip the ceremony. Giuliani, who said he lost friends at the site and remains close to many of the families, said Mamdani's presence offends him.
Broader record under scrutiny
Beyond the Kassem appointment, critics have focused on Mamdani's past failure to denounce the phrase "globalize the intifada" and his praise for a figure identified as an unindicted co-conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. He has since said he would "discourage" use of that phrase.
His association with Twitch streamer Hasan Piker has generated separate friction. Piker stated publicly that America "deserved 9/11." Mamdani called those comments "objectionable and reprehensible" but has not disavowed him. The mayor has also faced criticism for endorsing candidates who have made controversial statements about the September 11 attacks.
The mayor's office did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital on Thursday.