New York City to make public 170,000 pages of post-9/11 air quality documents
Records may shed new light on what officials knew about post-9/11 air quality.
NEW YORK CITY (WABC) -- Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced Tuesday that New York City will publish more than 170,000 pages of previously unreleased records related to air quality in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks, shedding new light on what officials knew about toxic conditions around Ground Zero while publicly assuring residents and rescue workers the air was safe.
The records, which include air quality reports, contamination data and correspondence among city officials, will be posted on a public online portal as the city prepares to mark the 25th anniversary of the attacks. The documents were stored in 68 boxes in a city office, and many were only discovered last year, according to city officials.
City officials said documents already reviewed by the Mamdani administration show government leaders understood the dangers posed by burning toxins at Ground Zero. Records from 2001 indicate officials were concerned about potential lawsuits tied to chemical exposure even as the city continued to reassure the public that the air was safe.
The release follows years of demands for transparency from 9/11 survivors, advocates and first responders. It also resolves litigation brought by the advocacy group 9/11 Health Watch, which sued the city to force publication of the records.
Council Member Julie Menin said earlier this year that Lower Manhattan residents and first responders were assured the air was safe after the attacks, yet thousands later became sick with 9/11-related illnesses, including cancer.
The Mamdani administration said additional documents will be reviewed, redacted and released in the coming months as officials continue examining records related to environmental contamination in Lower Manhattan after the attacks.
Mamdani was scheduled to formally announce the release during a Tuesday morning news conference at City Hall alongside 9/11 families advocate Jon Stewart.
For years, questions have persisted about the city's handling of post-9/11 air quality concerns and whether residents, workers and first responders were adequately warned about potential health risks linked to dust and toxins released when the World Trade Center collapsed. The newly released records are expected to provide one of the most extensive public looks yet at the city's response in the months following the attacks.
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