Have any local New York City or state officials, or Zohran Mamdani himself, issued statements or apologies about remarks regarding September 11 2001?

1. Political Pressure and Public Distancing — Why Mamdani Said He Wasn’t Endorsing HasanAbi’s 2019 Claim

Coverage of a mayoral debate shows Zohran Mamdani explicitly distancing himself from HasanAbi’s 2019 comment that “America deserved 9/11,” after initially dodging the question; that distancing was reported as a direct attempt to separate Mamdani from extremist language associated with a public streamer ^[1]. Critics seized on Mamdani’s initial hesitation: Oren Barzilay of EMS Local 2507 labeled his response “cowardly,” illustrating how union and public-safety stakeholders framed the issue as a matter of leadership fitness ^[1]. HasanAbi himself has previously acknowledged his 2019 remark was inappropriate and accepted some responsibility, a separate act of accountability not originating from Mamdani ^[1]. The reporting thus documents public repudiation of the remark by Mamdani in the debate context, but not a formal apology or retraction issued in a standalone statement ^[1].

2. What Mamdani Has Said Publicly About 9/11 and Muslim Experiences — Sympathy, Politics, and Pushback

Other reporting captures Mamdani framing the post‑9/11 era as a period when Muslims in NYC experienced increased targeting, recounting personal anecdotes such as an aunt feeling unsafe wearing a hijab on the subway; he used those stories to argue Muslims were victims of the aftermath and to call out political figures he deemed Islamophobic, including Governor Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Eric Adams ^[2]. That messaging drew criticism from opinion writers who characterized the remarks as a political stunt and questioned his associations, but the pieces do not record Mamdani issuing an apology for those statements; they present a rhetorical defense rather than a retraction ^{[4] [2]}. The reporting therefore shows substantive explanation and defense of his remarks, followed by partisan pushback, without documentation of a formal apology by Mamdani ^{[2] [4]}.

3. Campaign Responses, Silence, and Unanswered Requests — Gaps Reporters Noted

At least one July article specifically notes that Mamdani’s campaign did not respond to requests for comment about controversial past statements tied to 9/11-era topics, indicating instances of nonresponse to media inquiries ^[3]. Other coverage centers on Mamdani’s attempts to contextualize or defend his past tweets and remarks on policing and foreign policy rather than offering an apology about 9/11-related comments; he characterized some past positions as “out of step” while arguing critics are attacking a “mythical version” of him ^[5]. The pattern across pieces is a mix of defense, distancing, and selective silence, not a clear public apology from Mamdani in the reported material ^{[3] [5]}.

4. Official Voices — Absence of Documented City or State Apologies in the Reporting

None of the provided analyses identify any formal statements or apologies from New York City or New York State officials directed at Mamdani’s remarks or addressing the specific controversies described; coverage instead focuses on political attacks by opponents like Cuomo and public criticism from unions and commentators ^{[6] [5]}. The reporting documents political pushback and scrutiny from civic actors, but reporters explicitly note the lack of an official apology or statement from government offices in the excerpts provided ^{[6] [7]}. Therefore, based on the supplied material, no government apology to victims or admonishment of Mamdani is recorded in these articles ^{[6] [7]}.

5. Competing Narratives and Motives — How Partisan and Opinion Coverage Frames the Same Events

The same facts are framed differently across outlets: some stories present Mamdani’s comments as a sincere account of Muslim experiences after 9/11 and a rebuke of Islamophobia, while others portray them as a political ploy or evidence of problematic associations; critics highlight past rhetoric and connections, whereas defenders emphasize evolution and context ^{[2] [4] [5]}. HasanAbi’s prior admission of wrongdoing in 2019 is documented and used by opponents to question judgment, even though that admission is separate from Mamdani’s debate distancing ^[1]. These divergent framings reveal competing political agendas—opponents seeking to disqualify Mamdani on security grounds and supporters urging contextual understanding—yet none of the provided pieces substitutes those narratives with a record of an apology from Mamdani or an official governmental response ^{[1] [4] [5]}.

6. Bottom Line — What the Record Shows and What Remains Unanswered

Across the supplied reporting, the factual record shows Mamdani publicly distancing himself from a controversial streamer’s 2019 remark and defending his own accounts of Muslim experiences after 9/11, while critics and unions condemned his initial hesitation and past rhetoric; HasanAbi has separately taken accountability for his 2019 comment ^{[1] [2] [3]}. What the reporting does not show is a clear, standalone apology from Zohran Mamdani specifically for any 9/11‑related remark, nor any formal apology or official condemnation issued by New York City or State officials in the provided texts. For a definitive public‑record determination, reporters would need to locate a dated written or spoken apology from Mamdani or an official statement from city or state offices; that element is absent from the cited coverage ^{[2] [7]}.