Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani: It is the darkest day in our city's history. It has shaped the lives of anyone who has had the privilege to call this city home. And as the mayor, in the visits that I've made to firehouses across the five boroughs, I've also gotten to learn about how, for many, that day has never ended.
What we've seen is these were New Yorkers who gave everything they had to this city, and they gave it in service to this city. And to grasp the enormity of it, it is something that I think it will take a lifetime to. But as we reach this 25th anniversary, it's an opportunity to really commemorate that service, that sacrifice and the families of those that were stolen from us.
Marcia Kramer: You've chosen to visit these firehouses privately so that you could meet with people in small groups. It must have been very emotional, and you must have heard stories about how it affected them. What was your takeaway from those meetings?
Mayor Mamdani: It's incredibly emotional because you are meeting firefighters who - some of them have memories of that day; others have joined this work because of that. You know, I met a man whose father was killed on September 11, and in honor of his father, he joined the Fire Department.
I went to Rescue 3 in the Bronx, where I learned of a brother who spent days searching for his brother, refusing to leave until he found his brother and then eventually joining the same rescue company. This was Danny and Tommy Foley. And you go to these firehouses, you see that "Never Forget" is something that they have lived up to, not only in the fact that you can look around the firehouse and you can see, etched sometimes in chalk, the names of those who were reporting that day, but also in the testaments that they have built to those that we lost, and in the knowledge that what we lost were not just New Yorkers, but also people who were willing to give everything they had in service of a city they loved.
Kramer: You know, when you talk about somebody looking for their loved one, it gives me chills because I talk to so many of those people who are looking for their son or their relative, and I wonder, when you hear those stories, what's your response? What effect does it have on you?
Mayor Mamdani: It breaks your heart because it shows you that, as much as people try to measure the darkness of that day in statistics, we have to remember that we're talking about families whose lives were shattered. We're talking about people who are often described by their profession but remembered for the fullness of who they were to every person in their life.
Kramer: You know, the number of people who have died of 9/11 illness has now surpassed the number of people that actually perished on that day. I wonder, as mayor, would this inform your response if there were another attack?
Mayor Mamdani: I think that it shows the responsibility thatCity government has to continue to not only remember, but to be there to support these families.
One of the decisions that I made this year was to allocate tens of millions of dollars so that we would create a portal where New Yorkers could search through City government documents to see what all the City government knew at the time. Because as you've said, now the number of New Yorkers who have lost their lives since 9/11 has surpassed that of those who were killed on 9/11. And so many of these New Yorkers are ones who made the decision to run towards Ground Zero. And for that, they have suffered medically, and the city should be there for them.
Kramer: So, what would you tell the 9-year-old about this city 25 years later?
Mayor Mamdani: That it is still the city that he loved. It is still the city that was his home, and now that I have the privilege of being here for the 25th anniversary and ensuring that it's a day about those that were stolen from us and the legacy that they leave behind of what it means to love and lead a city.
[Interview ends.]
Kramer: Now Mayor Mamdani told me that what he learned from talking to firefighters is their belief that the duty to, quote, "Never Forget," is not only a personal responsibility, but a collective responsibility to learn about those who were on duty that day and who were killed.
Dick Brennan: You know, Marcia, when he talks about being nine years old, and I've spoken to so many young people - My daughter was 10 that day. Such a formative time of your life and troubling, too, because you don't really understand, but you do understand. And yet, he seems so moved by everything.
Kramer: Well, he told me that what happened was that people in his class had fathers who were working in the area at the World Trade Center, and they couldn't get through because there was no communication. And the fear that they would never see their parents again was palpable.
Jessica Moore: You can tell it really made an impact on him, and the emotion was evident on his face 25 years later.
Brennan: It's a different side of him we don't really see, but he's obviously moved.
Moore: Great interview.
Brennan: Yes, Marcia, wonderful. Thank you so much.
