A Civic Pulse publication
The accountability feed

News

Vetted coverage of Governor Hochul's administration, grouped by day. Every item names its publication and carries a source-credibility tier — Tier 1 primary/wire, Tier 2 established outlet, Tier 3 secondary. No spin; each story links to its original source.

5 items

Sep 12, 2026

1
Spectrum News NY1 (Bernadette Hogan)TIER 1

NY1 on the ceremony's politics: Hochul stood with Cuomo and de Blasio, Vance embraced Giuliani and Bloomberg, 9/11 widow Terry Strada used the podium to attack Saudi protection "administration after administration," and Blakeman attended to honor his nephew, court officer Thomas Jurgens

Speeches by politicians were barred, but the ceremony still turned political through family readers: Strada called out dignitaries for protecting Saudi Arabia and asked Vance to carry the message to Trump. NY1 reports the Mamdani–Giuliani meeting after weeks of Giuliani urging the mayor to stay away, and quotes Hochul's CNN line that animosity "seems to melt away" at the reflecting pools. Blakeman's campaign said he attended to honor Senior Court Officer Thomas Jurgans, who died evacuating people from the World Trade Center. No incident or protest involving Hochul or Mamdani was reported.

Sep 11, 2026

2
Governor's officeTIER 1

Hochul puts $2.2M into the 9/11 Memorial Museum to make "New York First Sundays" every Sunday for a year starting October; also orders 17 landmarks lit red, white and blue and flags at half-staff, and releases a Steve Buscemi-narrated video

Two anniversary-morning releases. The $2.2M expands a Carnegie-funded program that gives New York residents and students free afternoon admission on the first Sunday of each month to every Sunday for one year beginning October 2026; museum CEO Beth Hillman credited Hochul. The second release lists 17 landmarks lit red, white and blue (One WTC, Cuomo Bridge, Niagara Falls, Moynihan, etc.), half-staff flags at the Capitol and Empire State Plaza, and notes 84 Port Authority and 40 Tax and Finance employees killed. Neither release mentions the ceremony itself, Blakeman, or Mamdani. Second URL: governor.ny.gov/news/25-years-later-we-will-never-forget-governor-hochul-honors-911-victims-survivors-and-first

Governor's office (ICYMI, New York Post op-ed)TIER 1

Hochul's 9/11 op-ed in the New York Post: "never forget" means backing sick responders, "standing up for the police officers who protect our city when their resources are threatened," and "refusing to let this solemn anniversary become a source of division"

The governor's office reposted Hochul's New York Post op-ed on the morning of the 25th anniversary. The piece profiles four children of 9/11 victims who went into the NYPD, FDNY and nursing, and casts "never forget" as a standing obligation: health care and benefits for responders with 9/11-related illnesses, support for police "when their resources are threatened," and a refusal to let the anniversary "become a source of division." It does not name Blakeman, Mamdani or the headscarf fight, but the closing lines ("refuse to allow hatred, suspicion or division to diminish the spirit New Yorkers showed") track the language she has used against Blakeman's "Hijab Hochul" attack. Original: nypost.com/2026/09/10/opinion/new-york-must-never-forget-9-11-and-turn-sorrow-into-service/

Sep 5, 2026

2
New York PostTIER 2

Hochul calls Blakeman's escalating "Hijab Hochul" attack "reprehensible"; Blakeman doubles down citing his nephew killed on 9/11 and ties her to Mamdani and "Global Intifada"

Sept. 3: The headscarf fight moved to a third round. After Blakeman's Sept. 1 post ("Hijab Hochul. Kathy's Latest Costume: Whatever the Audience Wants"), Hochul called the attack "reprehensible." Blakeman did not back off: in a statement invoking his nephew Tommy (state court officer Thomas Jurgens), killed on 9/11 while giving first aid to a burned woman, he said Hochul "has aligned yourself with Zohran Mamdani who won't speak against 'Global Intifada' which was the goal of his murderers." The Post noted Blakeman himself wore a head covering at a Sikh event last year. Hochul's office again cited the 2022 Ronkonkoma mosque visit and Officer Didarul Islam's funeral as precedent. This is the first time either side has used "reprehensible"; it follows Hochul's Sept. 2 on-camera answer ("says more about him") and her X reply to Trump. Logged Sept. 5 (missed Sept. 3-4 runs).

Matzav (reporting Newsmax "National Report" interview)TIER 3

Backfill: Blakeman on Newsmax tells Hochul and Mamdani to skip the 25th-anniversary Ground Zero ceremony: "Hopefully they won't go, but if they do, turn your back on them"

Aug. 31: In a Newsmax "National Report" interview, Blakeman said he sympathizes with the current and retired Port Authority officers who asked Hochul and Mayor Mamdani to stay away from the Sept. 11 Ground Zero commemoration, and that if they attend anyway, attendees should stage a peaceful protest: "Hopefully they won't go, but if they do, turn your back on them." He compared the ceremony to a wake ("If you're asked not to attend a wake, you shouldn't attend"). Blakeman was a Port Authority commissioner on 9/11 and lost his nephew, state court officer Thomas Jurgens, in the South Tower collapse; the interview extends to Hochul a "turn your back" call he had previously aimed only at Mamdani (Aug. 5). Hochul's office has said she will attend and that Muslim New Yorkers were among the first responders. Missed by prior runs; logged Sept. 5 with the Matzav write-up as the accessible source (Newsmax segment is the original).