The lead organizer of a petition that collected more than 113,000 signatures on behalf of families of 9/11 victims demanding New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani stay away from Ground Zero on the 25th anniversary of the terror attacks said he’s disappointed Hizzoner showed up — but has no regrets about taking the stand.
“Of course we’re disappointed after all the time and work we put into it, … but in the end he’s mayor and did what he wanted,” Giovanni Galante told The Post Saturday.
Galante – whose 29-year-old wife Grace was among 2,977 innocents killed by al-Qaeda terrorists – said he never dreamed the Change.org petition he drafted in July would score so many signatures. But he said he felt someone had to act because Mamdani has historically been an Islamic terror apologist.
“I didn’t want to go through this really – I’m not an advocate, but I’m glad I did,” said the Brooklyn-born real estate agent who now lives in Florida.
“And I would do it again, 100 percent! I never expected to get over 113,000 signatures – 113,000 is humongous – I would have been happy with 3,000… We must never forgot [the victims].”
He estimated thousands of the signatures collected were directly from the family members of 9/11 victims.
Mamdani’s past remarks and associations with people openly hostile to the US or scornful of the worst terror attack in American history — such as vile left-wing influencer Hasan Piker, who once said “America deserved” the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks — made his planned attendance a lightning rod for criticism for months, but the mayor brushed off the growing chorus and vowed to attend.
Galante said he and many of the other family members of 9/11 victims were prepared to turn their backs on Mamdani and give him an earful at the ceremony — if the opportunity presented itself – but event organizers at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum sat all elected officials away from family members as they have for past anniversary ceremonies.
When asked about a video clip that went viral showing Mamdani briefly laughing with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a fellow Democratic socialist, during the somber reading of 9/11 victims’ names, Galante said he’s willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.
“(That) easily be taken out of context because it’s unclear what they were talking about,” he said.
Galante also offered Mamdani some rare praise for being among the few elected officials to stay for the roughly five-hour ceremony.
He wasn’t alone.
Charles G. Wolf, another staunch Mamdani critic whose 40-year-old wife Katherine Wolf was on the 97th floor of the World Trade Center’s North Tower when it was struck by American Airlines Flight 11, told The Post he refused to shake Mamdani’s hand and turned his back on him in April while Hizzoner was meeting with King Charles III and Queen Camilla at the Ground Zero memorial in Manhattan.
But Wolf said he was “impressed” Mamdani stayed until the end of Friday’s ceremony — and approached him afterward to introduce himself as “the guy who turned his back on him” earlier in the year.
“I said I really appreciate the respect you showed for our loved ones and for doing what a mayor should do,” recalled Wolf. “We shook hands and he said, ‘Thank you for your feedback.’”
