“The City began covering their ass three weeks in…in a memo…”
On Tuesday, NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced the city had released more than 170,000 pages of air-quality records from the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks, shedding new light on what officials knew about toxic conditions around Ground Zero while publicly assuring residents and rescue workers that the air was safe to breathe.
The documents showed that government leaders understood the dangers posed by burning toxins at Ground Zero but were more concerned with legal issues related to the toxins vers people’s health.
“It would be one thing if government had stood alongside survivors and provided them with everything they needed at every step of the way. And yet we know that could not be further from what actually happened,” Mamdani said.
“The leaders they trusted lied and told them they were safe to breathe in toxic air,” Mamdani said.
Speaking alongside the mayor, activist Jon Stewart said the newly released records confirm what many New Yorkers suspected for years.
The Mamdani administration said more it will review, redact, and post additional records in the coming months as officials continue examining documents related to environmental contamination and the city’s response to the attacks.