Mamdani releases 170,000 pages of long-withheld 9/11 records

New York City (NYC) Mayor Zohran Mamdani's administration has released more than 170,000 pages of previously undisclosed municipal records on air quality and health risks following the September 11, 2001 attacks, days before the 25th anniversary of the attacks. The records, released on Tuesday through a new online portal, include air-quality reports, contamination data and communications between city officials. The city said that the material also contains an internal memo examining potential legal liability related to air pollution around Ground Zero. Mamdani said the release was intended to give survivors, first responders and the public access to information that had remained unavailable for years. '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 stated in a statement. At a press conference, he stressed that the health consequences of the attacks continued long after the initial disaster. 'People got sick because the leaders they trusted lied and told them they were safe to breathe in toxic air,' Mamdani added. The release includes documents from 68 boxes discovered in a city government office, according to the administration. The initial tranche represents only a portion of the city's records on air quality at Ground Zero. Congressman Jerry Nadler said he and other officials had warned local and federal authorities about health risks from toxins released after the World Trade Center collapse. 'Our warnings were not heeded,' Nadler said, adding that city officials under former mayor Rudy Giuliani had anticipated serious long-term health consequences for responders and nearby communities. New York City Council member Gale Brewer said first responders, survivors and people who lived, worked or studied in lower Manhattan had faced health consequences for 25 years while parts of the city's records remained inaccessible. The city has committed more than $34 million to establish the public portal, with hundreds of thousands of pages expected to become available free of charge. The first release includes records concerning asbestos contamination and the city's response.