NYC releases thousands of 9/11 documents on Ground Zero air quality

NEW YORK - New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is ordering the release of more than 170,000 pages of new documents detailing air quality conditions at Ground Zero in the months following the September 11 terror attacks. 

What we know:

Mamdani said the documents are being made public after the city settled two 9/11-related lawsuits. He made the announcement during a news conference Tuesday morning at the City Hall Rotunda. 

"We are together this morning to stand steadfast alongside survivors and their families, and to deliver the kind of accountability around city government's response to September 11th that New Yorkers have been denied for years," the mayor said. 

Mamdani specified the documents "show what the city knew about the toxic air around Ground Zero, when they knew it, and how they acted to limit liability."

"They contain details about DEP's response. They show how asbestos was found nearly everywhere that inspectors tested, and they will help New Yorkers access the healthcare they need," he said. 

It comes after city officials last year revealed dozens of boxes of 9/11 documents, including air quality reports indicating the air around the World Trade Center site was contaminated for months after the attacks, were found stored in a city office away from public view. 

The documents also include correspondence among city officials, according to The NY Times, which reviewed them in advance of the mayor's announcement.

What's next:

The Mamdani administration has set aside $34 million in the budget to process and publish the records, which may expose the city to new lawsuits. 

The first documents were made public Tuesday morning via an online portal, which City Hall says will be "updated regularly as the Law Department reviews additional City records over the next 12 months."

‘Documents that New Yorkers were owed’

What they're saying:

"Everyone knew. And now it's very clear that the city knew as well, and rather than take the steps to ameliorate the damage that that would cause to its citizens and to the people that were down there, they instead covered it up to get back to business as usual," said comedian Jon Stewart, an advocate for 9/11 first responders. 

"This was multiple mayoral administrations refusing to release documents that New Yorkers were owed, and we would not be here today were it not for the dogged tenacity of all those on this stage," Mamdani added.  

Gov. Kathy Hochul's office released the following statement to FOX 5: "The governor believes New Yorkers deserve transparent access to 9/11 health data. The state will review any requests for similar documents and will release all relevant information to the public."

The battle for transparency

The backstory:

The battle for transparency surrounding Ground Zero air quality has lasted years, going through multiple mayoral administrations. 

New Yorkers were repeatedly assured that the air around the fallen towers was safe to breathe, though health officials were still finding evidence of asbestos and other toxins in Lower Manhattan 10 months after the attacks.

Then-EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman has since apologized for saying the air was safe. 

Nearly 3,000 people were killed on 9/11, but many more have died from 9/11-related illnesses, including lung and blood cancers, and respiratory diseases. 

September 11News