‘‘Never Forget’ is not a slogan’: Mamdani designates 9/11 as a Day of Remembrance and Service

New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani is set to designate September 11 as a Day of Remembrance and Service ahead of the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks.

Mamdani’s office announced on Friday morning that the mayor will sign two executive orders honoring victims, first responders, survivors, city workers and families affected by the attacks. The orders will also strengthen the city’s ability to protect New Yorkers and maintain essential services during emergencies.

The first executive order is expected to designate time on September 11 for a moment of silence honoring those killed in the attacks, as well as those who have suffered health consequences in the years since. It will also encourage city agencies to hold memorial ceremonies, educational programming and other remembrance activities.

The designation would mark the first city-level action of its kind by a New York City mayor, Mamdani’s office said.

The second executive order will overhaul the city’s emergency continuity plans for the first time since 2007. It will also create a new interagency team to coordinate the city’s response and continuity planning.

In a statement on Friday, Mamdani said: “I am honored to establish the City’s first Day of Remembrance and Service on September 11th to remember those we lost on that horrific day and the first responders, families and city workers whose lives were irrevocably changed in the aftermath. Through this executive order, we are calling on New Yorkers to honor their memory through service and deep reflection.

“We must also recognize that remembrance carries a responsibility to strengthen our city, protect New Yorkers and ensure that government is prepared to deliver for people no matter the circumstances. ‘Never Forget’ is not a slogan. It is a commitment that we must carry forward through action. And that is precisely what these two executive orders demonstrate,” he added.

The city’s fire department commissioner Lillian Bonsignore echoed similar sentiments, saying: “Service was the legacy of those who answered the call on September 11, 2001, and those who have died since. The greatest tribute we can pay them is to continue serving one another with compassion, courage and a shared commitment to building a stronger New York.”

Mamdani’s announcement comes amid a wave of attacks, some Islamophobic, targeting the 34-year-old democratic socialist, who is the city’s first Muslim mayor.

A recent petition with more than 98,000 signatures, including from family members who lost relatives in the attacks, calls for Mamdani to be excluded from September 11 commemorative events marking the 25th anniversary.

Among other claims, the petition accuses the mayor of supporting individuals whose public statements or records are viewed as “dismissive of American institutions or insufficiently critical of extremist ideologies”.

Former New York governor George Pataki, a Republican, has also said Mamdani should skip the 9/11 memorial.

But other families and local lawmakers have pushed back. Elizabeth Miller, whose father was killed in the attacks, told CBS earlier this month: “The focus should be on where are we in this world, 25 years later?”

“Mayor Mamdani has assured 9/11 families that he wants to be there to honor our loved ones, and I think he should be allowed to do that,” added Miller, the project director of September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, a remembrance organization.

In a separate statement, the organization said: “We strongly condemn the anti-American accusations and Islamophobic sentiment underlying the effort seeking to prevent him from being at Ground Zero.

“For decades, we have firmly maintained that Ground Zero is sacred space and should never be used as a platform for political speech or partisan politics. Ground Zero remains a burial ground.”

Meanwhile, city council speaker Julie Menin called the push to exclude Mamdani “absolutely inappropriate”, adding: “I think mayor [Mike] Bloomberg made a terrific decision in making sure that there were not political speeches because, again, it shouldn’t be politicized … So, those that are trying to politicize this, what is happening on the 25th anniversary, I think that that is unfortunate.”

Responding to a question about how he felt about the petition a few weeks ago, Mamdani told reporters: “I will proudly honor the families, the survivors, the first responders, forever impacted by that horrific terror attack, by standing alongside them at this year’s 9/11 commemoration, reaffirming that we will never forget the solemn day felt by all of us who call this city home, and frankly, by all of us who call this country home.”

Even before taking office, Mamdani faced Islamophobic attacks on the campaign trail, including from his political opponents, former governor Andrew Cuomo, House Republicans who have called for his deportation, as well as Donald Trump.