New York releases 9/11 air quality documents after 25 years

In early September 2026, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani released over 170,000 pages of long-hidden documents showing that city officials may have misled the public about air toxicity around Ground Zero after the 9/11 attacks. The records suggest New York concealed information about asbestos and other hazardous particles in the air, which has raised questions about what officials knew at the time.

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani has publicly called on Mamdani to stay away from the 9/11 memorial ceremony, criticizing the release. The disclosure comes as the 81st session of the UN General Assembly opened in New York, though the documents' release is separate from that event.