NEW YORK (VINnews) – Families of Sept. 11 victims, first responders and elected officials gathered outside City Hall Tuesday to deliver a blunt message to Mayor Zohran Mamdani: Stay away from Friday’s 25th anniversary memorial ceremony.
The group presented a petition with nearly 102,000 signatures calling on Mamdani not to attend the ceremony at the World Trade Center. Join our WhatsApp group
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Among those speaking out was Jeannette Pick, whose father, Joseph O. Pick, was killed in the South Tower. Pick was only 9 years old when she lost her father.
Speaking about the mayor’s planned attendance, Pick delivered what she described as a simple message to Mamdani.
“Dude, don’t come,” she said.
For Pick and other victims’ relatives, the anniversary is not a political event but a deeply personal day of mourning for the families who lost loved ones.
Charles Wolf, whose wife was killed in the attacks, said the families are asking Mamdani to respect their wishes and allow them to mourn without distractions.
"Mamdani, do us all a favor and just stay home!"
Catholic League President Bill Donohue unloads on Mayor Zohran Mamdani over his past remarks about 9/11, calling him a "disgrace to veterans" and telling him to stay away from the upcoming 25th anniversary memorial ceremony.… pic.twitter.com/xbyQJfPGht
— Fox News (@FoxNews) September 8, 2026
Giovanni Galante, whose wife Grace was killed on Sept. 11, organized the petition. He said the families want the 25th anniversary to remain centered on the victims and survivors.
“We really want us to be left alone,” Galante said.
Monica Iken, whose husband Michael was killed in the attacks, also urged Mamdani to respect the families’ wishes.
The families’ objections include concerns about Mamdani’s political positions, associations and appointments in his administration. Cheri Sparacio, whose husband Tom was killed in the South Tower, said their objections were based on his public actions rather than his background or faith.
Council members Vickie Paladino and Joann Ariola joined the families in calling on Mamdani to stay away.
Mamdani has indicated that he intends to attend Friday’s ceremony. The annual observance includes the reading of the names of those killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and brings together victims’ relatives, survivors, first responders and public officials.
For families such as Pick’s, however, the ceremony remains intensely personal — a moment that brings back the loss of loved ones who never came home.
The 25th anniversary memorial ceremony will take place Friday at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum.
This trend of giving special status to families of victims has turned out to be so toxic in so many ways, both in the USA and in EY. The families become arrogant and push their weight around to “cash in” on their new entitlement in ways that have serious negative consequences on governing.
Take for example the Israeli families of people taken hostage and how that ham-stringed (pun intended) and distracted the Israeli government from acting against the terrorists.
NYC ended up with a huge piece of Manhattan real estate wasted on a really stupidly-designed memorial. The terrorists continue to win, every day, by us permanently depriving ourselves of being able to use that real estate. Terrorism wins or loses based upon the reactions it causes in us.