Twenty-five years after the Sept. 11 attacks, New York City has launched a public document portal that makes public more than 170,000 pages of previously unavailable records documenting the city’s response to the attacks and its aftermath.
The release came after a settlement between the city and 9/11 Health Watch after a multiyear legal battle over access to records related to air quality and health concerns.
Records include the Harding Memo — "68 boxes" of records about World Trade Center 7 that were not located until 2025.
The city has committed more than $34 million to create the portal. More records are scheduled to be published over the next 12 months.
“The very least our city owes the families, survivors and first responders whose lives were forever changed by the Sept. 11th attacks is transparency and accountability,” said Mamdani. "For too long, New Yorkers have had to fight for access to records that should have been available to them in the first place."
The release is particularly significant for those exposed to conditions on ground zero. According to The New York Times, documents "strengthen the notion" that New Yorkers were told to return to the ground zero area before it was safe, potentially exposing them to hazardous toxins.
"People got sick because the leaders they trusted lied and told them they were safe to breathe in toxic air," Mamdani said in a conference to introduce the records.
The portal also includes information about health assistance programs, including the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund and is designed to help current and former city employees and public school students locate records that could establish their presence in the exposure zone.
Dedicated personnel at the Department of Citywide Administrative Services and New York City Public Schools will also assist people seeking documentation for federal assistance programs.
The department will withhold personally identifiable information and certain security-sensitive records.
