The president of the Port Authority Retired Police Association sent separate letters to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Governor Kathy Hochul demanding they skip the 25th anniversary Ground Zero commemoration, a move backed by more than 95,000 petition signatures from grieving families and supporters.
John McDevitt, who leads the association representing retired officers who responded to the September 11 attacks, told Mamdani that the ceremony is no place for politicians looking for a camera. His letter cited "profound concerns" over the mayor's public statements and positions, and asked him to stay away from Ground Zero entirely, suggesting he release a written statement or attend a separate event instead.
The demand lands less than two weeks before the September 11, 2026, anniversary and reflects a deep rift between New York's political leadership and the first responders and families who bore the cost of that day. Mamdani had not responded to McDevitt's letter as of the Daily Mail's reporting. Hochul's office rejected the demand outright.
McDevitt did not hold back in his letter to the mayor. He framed the anniversary as belonging to the people who lived through it, not to elected officials seeking a backdrop.
"For us, September 11 is not a political occasion, a photo opportunity, or a platform for public officials. It is a solemn day of remembrance for those who were murdered, those who responded, those who survived, and the families who have carried these losses for twenty-five years."
He closed his appeal to Mamdani with a single, pointed request:
"This is our day to remember. Please allow us to remember in peace."
The association's grievances with Mamdani trace back at least to 2023, when he served in the New York State Assembly. That year, he issued a public statement commemorating the attacks that used the phrase "New Yorkers died on 9/11", language that drew criticism for declining to say the victims were murdered. That post resurfaced in recent days amid the renewed backlash. Mamdani previously said he would "proudly honor" the victims at the ceremony, but the retired officers clearly do not consider that sufficient.
Mamdani attended the Ground Zero commemoration in 2025, where he met with King Charles. His presence at that event apparently did nothing to ease the concerns of the officers and families now pushing back.
McDevitt sent a separate letter to Governor Hochul, and the complaint against her was specific: her decision to illuminate One World Trade Center for Muslim American Heritage Month. McDevitt branded the move "insensitive, tone-deaf, and an affront" to the victims of September 11.
He accused the governor of prioritizing political considerations over the meaning of the site itself:
"We believe that political pandering played a role in a decision that showed such disregard for the significance of this sacred site."
And then the verdict:
"Because of that decision, we believe that you have forfeited your right to stand alongside us at Ground Zero on the 25th anniversary."
Hochul's office pushed back. A spokesperson said the governor "has enormous respect for all the families who lost loved ones on 9/11" and will "proudly stand alongside them at this year's commemoration." The spokesperson added that Muslims "served as first responders and helped unite the city in the aftermath of 9/11" and that Hochul "knows we can respect these families while being clear that Islamophobia has no place in New York."
The response reframed the dispute as a question of tolerance rather than addressing McDevitt's core objection, that the governor used the most prominent physical symbol of the attacks as a vehicle for a separate political message. Whether lighting One World Trade Center for a heritage month constitutes "political pandering" or appropriate recognition is the fault line, and Hochul's office chose to answer a different question entirely.
The retired officers are not alone. Giovanni Galante, whose wife Grace Galante was killed on September 11, launched a petition in July asking organizers to bar Mamdani from the ceremony. By the time the Daily Mail reported on the dispute, the petition had drawn more than 95,000 signatures.
Galante wrote in the petition:
"Speaking as the husband of Grace Catherine Galante, we are taking measures to shield our loved ones by barring anyone who opposes our way of life from the ceremony."
That is not the language of a political operative. It is the language of a man who lost his wife and does not want the anniversary of her death turned into a stage for officials whose public records suggest they view September 11 through a different lens than the people who were there.
Bruce Blakeman, the Republican nominee running to unseat Hochul as governor, weighed in on X. He called the situation "deeply unfortunate" and sided squarely with the retired officers.
"Hochul and Mamdani need to listen to the heroes who lived through the horrors of that day and lost their brothers and sisters. Ground Zero is sacred. This anniversary should be about remembering the innocent lives lost, standing with their families, and honoring the brave first responders who ran toward danger."
Blakeman's statement drew the political contrast plainly. The officers who ran into the towers, the families who buried their loved ones, and the survivors who still carry the weight of that morning are asking two things: say what happened honestly, and do not use the anniversary to advance unrelated agendas. Neither request is unreasonable.
Hochul plans to show up anyway. Mamdani has said nothing. And the families, the people who actually lost something on September 11, 2001, are left to wonder whether the politicians who govern their city and state can set aside their own priorities for one day a year.
Twenty-five years later, the victims' families should not have to fight for ownership of their own grief.
