9/11 Health Watch urges incoming Mamdani administration to release toxin records
The organization is also calling on the new administration to release information on why the Department of Environmental Protection initially claimed it had no 9/11‑related records.
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A long‑running fight over access to city documents related to the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks is now poised to land on the desk of Mayor‑elect Zohran Mamdani, after the outgoing Adams administration ordered that a response to a pending Freedom of Information Law request be issued by Feb. 27, 2026.
The order comes in response to a lawsuit against the city by 9/11 advocates, which recently uncovered 68 boxes of evidence detailing the presence of asbestos and other toxins at ground zero that date back as early as Sept. 2001, according to lawyers and 9/11 Health Watch who initially reviewed those documents.
However, they say after being able to have brief access to the files back in November, they say access has dried up.
9/11 Health Watch is also calling on Mamdani to fully cooperate with a City Council‑ordered Department of Investigation probe into the city’s handling of 9/11‑related documents, and to ensure the agency has the resources to complete its work.
“Mayor‑elect Mamdani can be the mayor who, after 25 years, answers the question: What did the city know about the hazards caused by toxic chemicals at ground zero, and when did it know it?” said Benjamin Chevat, executive director of 9/11 Health Watch.
The organization is also calling on the new administration to release information on why the Department of Environmental Protection initially claimed it had no 9/11‑related records.
"For years we were told the city did not have records, and then all of a sudden all of these boxes…What the city still has can help the next family not have to jump through hoops," said Jenn McNamara, whose husband John died of 9/11 related illness.
She said for years her family had to fight to prove the connection between his time at ground zero and his cancer.
“At the agency level and in the Supreme Court, DEP worked to dismiss our case for two years, asserting we had no reason to claim the documents existed,” said attorney Andrew Carboy. “Now, after admitting it had hundreds of thousands of September 11th records, DEP refuses to explain itself. We are asking the court to direct DEP officials to testify under oath.”
First responder families told News 12 that after nearly 25 years, they hope the now fifth mayoral administration in charge of these records will give them answers.
"It's still not too late to get this information out there, to help more families, to know how these responders got sick, and hopefully help more legislation that gets them the care they need," said Phil Alvarez, the brother of Lou Alvarez, who worked to pass the 9/11 Responder Bill before he died in 2019.
They hope the new administration can turn a new leaf on this decades-long battle for answers.
"If you want to show good faith, respect first responders, respect the community downtown- release everything- and whatever they say, they say that's it," said.
