Overview
- Mamdani signed two executive orders Friday that designate Sept. 11 as a citywide Day of Remembrance and update the city’s emergency continuity and preparedness rules.
- Video of the signing shows the ceremonial pen being passed to chief counsel Ramzi Kassem, whose past defense of a convicted al‑Qaeda-linked defendant has become the central focus of criticism.
- A Change.org petition organized by relatives has topped roughly 98,000 signatures and is set to be hand-delivered to City Hall on Sept. 8.
- Several named family members say they will ignore or turn their backs on the mayor at the Ground Zero ceremony while some relatives and groups continue to defend his attendance.
- Former officials including Rudy Giuliani and George Pataki have publicly objected to Mamdani’s presence, and the dispute could draw attention away from the memorial’s apolitical name‑reading and quiet observance on Sept. 11.