Mamdani launches first public City portal releasing 170,000 pages of 9/11 health records

New York City has released more than 170,000 pages of records documenting the city government's response to the September 11th attacks and their aftermath, in what officials describe as the first public City portal dedicated to the disaster's health and environmental legacy.

Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani announced the release on Wednesday (9 Sept 2026), days before the 25th anniversary of the attacks. The portal is available at nyc.gov/sept11docs.

The announcement was made alongside the settlement of two lawsuits brought by the advocacy group 9/11 Health Watch, ending a multi-year legal battle over records concerning air quality and health concerns in the months and years following the attacks.

The initial release includes the frequently referenced Harding Memo, a collection of records concerning World Trade Center 7, and the so-called "68 boxes" of records that were not located until 2025 despite multiple Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) requests.

Officials from the Law Department worked directly with 9/11 Health Watch to identify and include many of the documents sought by the plaintiffs. Omissions were limited to those considered necessary, including the redaction of personally identifiable information.

The portal is to be updated regularly as the Law Department reviews additional City records over the next 12 months. The City expects that substantially more documents will be published during that period as reviews and redactions are completed.

Funding and administrative measures

Mayor Mamdani's FY27 budget includes US$34 million to create and maintain the public records portal.

The administration will also appoint dedicated personnel at the Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) and at New York City Public Schools (NYCPS). Their role will be to coordinate the retrieval of records for New Yorkers seeking to establish their presence in the New York City Exposure Zone.

Establishing presence in the Exposure Zone is a prerequisite for assistance under two federal programmes created by the Zadroga Act: the World Trade Center Health Program and the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund. The administration said it would work to promote participation in both programmes among responders and survivors.

Demands across successive administrations

Across several mayoral administrations, first responders, elected officials and the families of people who died of 9/11-related illnesses have demanded the release of these records.

Mayor Mamdani said the least the city owed those affected was transparency and accountability, adding that New Yorkers had for too long been forced to fight for access to records that should already have been available. He described the portal as part of a commitment to honour those who died and to care for those living with lasting health consequences.

Corporation Counsel Steven Banks said survivors and families had been asking for greater transparency for years. He said the documents had never previously been made available to the public and were essential to understanding the City's actions and decisions, both in the months after the attacks and in subsequent years.

Reaction from officials

Congressman Jerry Nadler, who represented Ground Zero and surrounding communities, said he and colleagues had warned local and federal officials at the time about the health risks posed by airborne toxins. He said those warnings were not heeded.

He said the records showed that City Hall, then led by former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, had predicted that thousands of responders and community members would face severe long-term health effects. He described the handling of that information as a slap in the face to those exposed at Ground Zero and in nearby schools, offices and homes.

Congressman Nadler further said the concealment prolonged the congressional fight for funding to meet victims' health needs, and that delays in healthcare interventions had cost lives.

Council Member Gale A. Brewer said that for 25 years, first responders, survivors, families and people who lived, worked or studied in Lower Manhattan had lived with the health consequences while records explaining how they became ill remained out of reach.

She said she had pushed on the Council for an independent Department of Investigation inquiry, using a city charter provision for the first time, and that the inquiry is now fully funded. She described the portal as a first step towards public access to that record.

Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal said tens of thousands of first responders were exposed to toxic dust and smoke comprising more than 2,500 contaminants, and continue to contend with chronic respiratory illnesses and cancers.

He credited the administration with being the first to respond to the call of responders, survivors and families to open the City's files, and urged New York State and the federal government to take similar steps.

Former Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney said she had spent 25 years advocating for people who were told the air was safe and later learned otherwise. She said the released pages belong to the people of New York and would help survivors prove their presence in the Exposure Zone and secure benefits.

She noted her role in creating and permanently funding the World Trade Center Health Program and the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, saying the obligation to the 9/11 community does not expire.