Giuliani and Mamdani shake hands at 9/11 25th anniversary ceremony as records dispute continues
Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani and current Mayor Zohran Mamdani shook hands and exchanged pleasantries at Friday's ceremony commemorating the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Mamdani's administration earlier in the week released more than 170,000 pages of city records documenting the response to the attacks and their aftermath, including documents from the Giuliani administration. Giuliani's spokesperson responded by criticizing Mamdani's framing of the records release.
Two sources · Thin corroboration
At Friday's Ground Zero ceremony, Rudy Giuliani — who had publicly criticized Mayor Zohran Mamdani in the days leading up to the event — shook hands with Mamdani and, according to a person with knowledge of the exchange granted anonymity by Politico, told the current mayor he knew it was "a tough job" and that he was praying for him. Mamdani, the city's first Muslim mayor, told reporters afterward that the two had "exchanged pleasantries."
The moment of civility came after a contentious week. Mamdani's administration released more than 170,000 pages of city records related to the September 11 response, including 68 boxes of Department of Environmental Protection documents said to have not been located until 2025, and records related to 7 World Trade Center. At a Tuesday news conference, Mamdani said the documents showed officials across multiple administrations had information about hazardous conditions but failed to adequately inform the public. "People got sick because the leaders they trusted lied and told them they were safe to breathe in toxic air," Mamdani said.
Among the released records, Fox News reported, was a memo sent to Deputy Mayor Robert Harding during the Giuliani administration warning that the city faced potentially multimillion-dollar lawsuits from New Yorkers who said health advisories failed to protect them from toxic exposure and that sites were inadequately cleaned up. Records also documented asbestos findings at multiple Lower Manhattan locations, including 15 John Street, at levels that in some cases appeared to exceed applicable benchmarks. Health authorities have said there is no known safe level of asbestos exposure.