Mamdani Unveils $34 Million Plan To Release 9/11 Records As Files Detail Toxic Air Concerns

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has announced a more than $34 million initiative to create a public portal containing hundreds of thousands of pages of records documenting the city's response to the September 11, 2001, attacks.

Speaking ahead of the 25th anniversary of the attacks, Mamdani said the portal would provide unprecedented public access to records from numerous city agencies, including documents concerning the air quality around Ground Zero and the city's efforts to limit potential liability.

“These are documents that show what the city knew about the toxic air around Ground Zero, when they knew it, and how they acted to limit liability,” Mamdani said.

Mamdani said the release would include some previously sought-after records, including the Harding Memo, 68 boxes of documents from the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) discovered several years ago, and records relating to Seven World Trade Center.

The announcement comes alongside the release of a trove of approximately 170,000 documents detailing conditions in Lower Manhattan following the collapse of the World Trade Center towers.

According to the newly released records, hazardous air conditions were detected in Manhattan soon after the attacks, while officials publicly downplayed the potential health risks associated with the dust and smoke.

Mamdani said asbestos was found“nearly everywhere” in areas tested around Ground Zero.

The health consequences of the attacks have extended far beyond September 11 itself. US health authorities have said that illnesses associated with exposure to dust, smoke and other contaminants from the World Trade Center collapse have ultimately claimed more lives than the attacks themselves.

The planned public portal is part of Mamdani's stated push for greater transparency in City Hall and could provide researchers, first responders, survivors and affected families with access to records that have remained difficult to obtain for decades.

The initiative comes as New York prepares to mark 25 years since the attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people and transformed the city's security, public-health and emergency-response policies.

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