Speaker Menin calls push against Mayor Mamdani at 9/11 ceremony ‘absolutely inappropriate’

Menin was responding on WNYC’s The Brian Lehrer Show to an online petition asking organizers to reconsider Mamdani’s participation and to Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman’s call for attendees to turn their backs on the mayor if he shows up.

“I don’t agree with that at all,” Menin said in the inaugural segment of the station’s new monthly series, Speak with the Speaker. 

The dispute is unfolding around a ceremony that has long kept elected officials in the background while victims’ relatives read the names of those killed in the Sept. 11 attacks.

Menin, who has longstanding ties to Lower Manhattan and the 9/11 Memorial, said that separation was intentional. She noted that she served on the jury for the 9/11 memorial, has served on the memorial’s board and foundation since its creation and previously chaired Manhattan Community Board 1 for seven years during the post-9/11 recovery period. 

“One of the things that the Memorial Museum, one of the things that we did is we made sure that there was no politicization of the events of 9/11 when we are honoring those lives that were lost,” Menin said.

She noted that elected officials attend the annual ceremony but do not give political speeches.

“I think Mayor Bloomberg made a terrific decision in making sure that there were not political speeches because, again, it shouldn’t be politicized,” Menin said. “So, those that are trying to politicize this, what is happening on the 25th anniversary, I think that that is unfortunate.”

Menin and Mamdani agreed in this year’s city budget to fund a $34.2 million portal for post-9/11 air quality and health records, with the first documents expected to be released before the 25th anniversary.

City Council Speaker Julie Menin points to language in a report about 9/11 air quality during a press conference at City Hall on Feb. 5, 2026.Emil Cohen/NYC Council Media Unit A firefighter stands at the 9/11 Memorial on Sept. 11, 2024. The FDNY lost 343 members in the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.Photo by Dean Moses

The petition, launched July 9 by Giovanni Galante, whose wife was killed on 9/11, had nearly 89,000 signatures on Change.org as of Wednesday.

It asks organizers to consider whether Mamdani’s participation is consistent with the purpose of the ceremony, citing a series of political associations, appointments and endorsements that petition organizers say raise concerns.

“For 9/11 families, this is not simply a public ceremony — it is a deeply personal day of mourning,” the petition states.

Galante told CBS New York earlier this month that “having Mamdani there would show a disrespect to our family members because of the people he supports.”

Blakeman, whose nephew was killed in the South Tower, has gone further. He said Mamdani is “not welcome there” and urged attendees to stage a silent protest if the mayor attends.

“I think there’s a respectful and peaceful way to protest that, and I would suggest that people turn their back on the mayor,” Blakeman said, according to Fox News.

Other relatives of those killed have said Mamdani should be allowed to attend.

Elizabeth Miller, whose father died in the attacks, also told CBS New York that Mamdani should be allowed to attend.

“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,” said Miller, the project director of September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows.

“The focus really shouldn’t be on who’s there, who’s not there,” she added. “It should be on our loved ones.”

Mamdani has said he plans to attend.

Asked at a press conference last month about the calls for him to stay away, the mayor did not criticize those opposing his presence.

“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,” Mamdani said.

And even one of Mamdani’s longtime critics has suggested the political fight should stop, at least for the day. Staten Island activist Scott LoBaido has proposed a Sept. 11 “ceasefire” with the mayor, according to SILive.