New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani joined FDNY officials Friday morning to lay a wreath at a 9/11 memorial honoring the 343 firefighters who lost their lives responding to the terrorist attacks. Mamdani also joined a ceremony at Ground Zero as New York City marks the 25th anniversary of September 11, 2001. Some 9/11 victims’ families and prominent Republicans, including former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, called for Mamdani to stay away from Friday’s annual commemoration. A petition backed by some victims’ relatives drew more than 110,000 signatures. Critics have cited, among other concerns, Mamdani’s appointment of Ramzi Kassem as chief counsel to the mayor and City Hall. Kassem previously represented Guantánamo detainee Ahmed al-Darbi, an al-Qaeda member who pleaded guilty to war-crimes charges stemming from the 2002 bombing of a French oil tanker. Al-Darbi’s brother-in-law, Khalid al-Mihdhar, was one of the hijackers aboard American Airlines Flight 77, which struck the Pentagon. “The 25th anniversary should remain centered on remembrance, unity, and an unambiguous rejection of the violence and extremism that defined that day,” the petition reads. The controversy intensified after Mamdani signed two 9/11-related executive orders last week — one establishing Sept. 11 as an annual citywide Day of Remembrance and Service and another updating the city’s emergency-preparedness policies. Afterward, Mamdani gave a ceremonial pen to Kassem, prompting criticism. City Hall said Kassem and his team helped draft the orders and noted that Kassem was in New York City on 9/11. The city’s first Muslim mayor has spent recent weeks visiting firehouses that suffered major losses on 9/11 and meeting with survivors and victims’ families. On Friday, he released a video, calling the anniversary a "sacred obligation" to honor those "who were stolen from us" by caring for one another. He noted that "25 years ago, terrorists killed nearly 3,000 people, including 2,753 New Yorkers." sources: @storyful @foxnews @nbcnews - @mosheh