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Capitol Conversations: Bureau reporters break down the latest

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, right, passes former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani ahead of a ceremony commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks at the National September 11 Memorial in New York City on Friday, Sept. 11, 2026.
Barry Williams
/
The Daily News via AP
New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, right, passes former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani ahead of a ceremony commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks at the National September 11 Memorial in New York City on Friday, Sept. 11, 2026.

The 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11th attacks brought new information about their aftermath and political sniping over whether the current mayor should attend the annual remembrance ceremony.

New York City is releasing 170,000 new files from the weeks and months after the attacks. They show early testing on the presence of asbestos and other harmful agents. Lower Manhattan was evacuated immediately following the collapse of the World Trade Center.

But officials wanted to get back to some sense of normalcy — and they assured New Yorkers that the air was safe to breathe. But the documents show early evidence that may not have been the case.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani was greeted cordially by figures like former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who had said Mamdani shouldn’t attend the ceremony. Giuliani and former Gov. George Pataki said the mayor has associated with people who previously said their actions were somehow justified.

In other news, more local governments are indicating plans to breach the state’s property tax cap in the face of rising costs and the end of pandemic-era federal funding.

They’re hoping state legislators tackle structural reforms during next year’s session.

The New York Public News Network’s Jimmy Vielkind and Samuel King discuss those developments at the Capitol.

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Jimmy Vielkind covers how state government and politics affect people throughout New York. He has covered Albany since 2008, most recently as a reporter for The Wall Street Journal.
Samuel King is a Capitol News Bureau reporter for the New York Public News Network, producing multimedia stories on issues of statewide interest and importance.