New Yorkers were 'lied' to about toxic air after 9/11 attacks, says Mamdani

Key Points:

• Newly released documents reveal that toxic air quality, including widespread asbestos contamination, was recorded in Manhattan soon after the 9/11 attacks, despite officials publicly downplaying health risks.
• New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani criticized past administrations for misleading the public about the safety of the air around Ground Zero, linking the toxic exposure to numerous illnesses and deaths among survivors.
• The documents, including the "Harding Memo," show city officials were aware of potential legal liabilities due to health advisories that led people to return to contaminated areas prematurely.
• Federal and city officials, including the EPA, initially declared the air safe shortly after the attacks, a stance later regretted by then-EPA head Christine Todd Whitman, who acknowledged the air was visibly and palpably toxic.
• The release of 170,000 pages of air quality reports and related files coincides with the 25th anniversary of 9/11, with more documents expected to be shared over the coming year as part of a $34 million city effort to provide transparency.