Retired Port Authority police officers have written to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Governor Kathy Hochul urging them to stay away from the 25th anniversary 9/11 commemoration at Ground Zero, arguing their presence would cause "deep pain" to victims' families, survivors and first responders. John McDevitt, president of the Port Authority Retired Police Association, said the ceremony should remain a solemn day of remembrance rather than a political platform, reflecting wider tensions over who should be welcome at this year's milestone anniversary event.

In letters dated 14 August, McDevitt told Mamdani that 37 Port Authority police officers and 47 other Port Authority staff died in the 2001 attacks, and cited "profound concerns" about the mayor's public statements and political associations, suggesting he mark the day instead with a written statement or separate event. Hochul was criticised over her decision to illuminate One World Trade Center for Muslim American Heritage Month, with McDevitt saying she had "forfeited" her right to stand at Ground Zero; her office rejected this, saying she respects 9/11 families and stressing that Islamophobia "has no place in New York." Mamdani has said he intends to attend and honour those affected, while a separate petition seeking to bar him from the ceremony has gathered more than 95,000 signatures.