New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani released two major sets of 9/11-related material in the days ahead of this year's 25th anniversary of the attacks: a detailed health report on the long-term impact of Ground Zero exposure on FDNY members, and more than 170,000 pages of city records on air quality and the government's response, some of which relate directly to the health data now coming to light.
A quarter-century of health data
On 1 September, Mamdani and FDNY Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore released the City's World Trade Center 25-Year Health Impact Report, produced by the FDNY World Trade Center Health Program and drawing on 25 years of medical monitoring, treatment and research involving firefighters, EMTs, paramedics, officers, civilians and retirees who took part in the rescue and recovery effort, according to the Mayor's Office.
More than 10,000 FDNY members are living with a 9/11-related illness, Mamdani said in a statement, calling the report "a reminder of a debt that New York can never fully repay." The report's key findings, according to the Mayor's Office, include that 86% of World Trade Center responders diagnosed with cancer are alive five years after diagnosis, compared with 63% of New York State residents diagnosed with the same cancers who were not exposed to the World Trade Center. More than 84% of enrolled responders remain active participants in the health programme. Precisely 10,562 members are certified for at least one physical health condition, including lower and upper respiratory disease and gastroesophageal reflux disease, while 4,496 are certified for at least one mental health condition, with reported symptoms of PTSD and depression having declined since the immediate post-9/11 period. 4,257 members currently hold a cancer certification, most commonly for nonmelanoma skin cancer, followed by prostate cancer.
Bonsignore said the department's health monitoring efforts began in the earliest days after the attacks and continue to inform care for what she called "our sickened members." The data collected through the health programme has also been credited with helping secure federal support, including the original 2010 James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, its 2015 reauthorisation, and full funding in 2026 to sustain the programme for responders' lifetimes, according to the Mayor's Office.
170,000 pages, and a legal battle resolved
A week later, on 8 September, Mamdani announced the release of more than 170,000 pages of city records documenting the government's response to the attacks and their aftermath, alongside the settlement of two lawsuits brought by the advocacy group 9/11 Health Watch over access to records concerning air quality and health, according to the Mayor's Office and CNN. The release includes the frequently referenced Harding Memo, the so-called "68 boxes" of records that went unlocated until 2025 despite multiple Freedom of Information Law requests, and a collection of records concerning World Trade Center 7, according to the Mayor's Office.
"For too long, New Yorkers have had to fight for access to records that should have been available to them in the first place," Mamdani said in a statement announcing the portal, now live at nyc.gov/sept11docs. The city's FY27 budget includes $34 million to build and maintain it, and officials say substantially more documents will be released over the next 12 months as the Law Department completes its review and redacts personally identifiable information.
According to CNN, the documents show city officials repeatedly reassured residents near Ground Zero that the air was safe, despite internal data and residents' own experiences that contradicted those claims. Democracy Now reported that some of the records indicate city officials misrepresented the extent of hazardous toxins that burned in and remained in the air for months, as far as half a mile from Ground Zero.
Sharp words from officials involved
Congressman Jerry Nadler said in a statement that his colleagues who represented the Ground Zero area had warned officials at the time of the health risks, warnings he said were not heeded, adding that City Hall under then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani had predicted thousands of responders and community members would face long-term health impacts from Ground Zero toxins. Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal said tens of thousands of first responders were exposed to toxic dust and smoke containing more than 2,500 contaminants. Former Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, who helped create and fund the federal Zadroga Act programmes, said survivors "deserved the truth then, and they deserve the full truth now."
Ben Chevat, executive director of 9/11 Health Watch, the group that sued for the records' release, thanked Mamdani at Tuesday's news conference for beginning, after 25 years, to answer what he called the central question: what the city knew about the dangers from the toxic cloud at Ground Zero, and when it knew it, according to CNN.
A federal fund still active
VCF Special Master Allison Turkel used a briefing tied to the release to urge anyone who may have been exposed to 9/11-related toxins to register with the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, even those not currently sick, noting the fund continues to receive more than 750 new claims every month.
Alongside the records portal, the Mamdani administration said it would appoint dedicated staff at the Department of Citywide Administrative Services and New York City Public Schools to help New Yorkers locate records establishing their presence in the city's official Exposure Zone, a step toward accessing the federal World Trade Center Health Program and Victim Compensation Fund.
Sources: NYC Mayor's Office, CNN, 911benefits.com
