this post was submitted on 08 Sep 2026

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NYC Mayor Mamdani releases 9/11 records showing officials misled New Yorkers about air quality around Ground Zero (www.cnn.com)

submitted 2 weeks ago by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/news@lemmy.world

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New York City has released more than 170,000 pages of previously undisclosed records about air quality following the September 11, 2001, attacks, showing city officials at the time knew conditions around Ground Zero were unsafe to breathe despite repeated assurances to the public.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced the release at a news conference Tuesday.

“As the years pass and the human toll grows, we reckon with the cost of September 11th whenever another New Yorker is stolen from us too soon,” Mamdani said. “Now, close to 25 years later, more people have died from 9/11-related illnesses than were killed on the day itself.”

At least 140,000 people from all 50 states have enrolled in the World Trade Center Health Program, and 49,000 have been diagnosed with certified WTC-related cancers, according to the 9/11 Memorial. Mamdani said Tuesday that more people are eligible for assistance than are currently enrolled, including residents who lived near the site but have not received outreach and those who live outside of New York.

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[–] Souvenir@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

It describes someone who is manipulative in a selfishly power-seeking way.

Not necessarily:

It describes how you achieve your aims, not necessarily what your aims are. Of course, given this is politics we're talking about, it's understandable you took it to be necessarily negative.

[–] grue@lemmy.world -4 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

A "smooth operator" isn't the same thing as a "political operator" either. The original commenter didn't say "smooth;" you added that yourself.

[–] Souvenir@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

You're right about the smooth bit. Don't know how that happened.

In any case, operator isn't necessarily negative, neither is political operator. It can be and often is, but not necessarily. I often see it being used as a compliment.

I did a google, here's an example from NPR, which is clearly complimentary:

Street — who calls Obama "one of the biggest celebrities on the planet at the moment" — notes that he is "always able to put a distance between himself and whatever performance he's giving. He knows he's playing a game. He knows this is a bit of light relief, a bit of entertainment, but he keeps his dignity ... and that seems to me a very clever trick. It speaks to him as a very sharp political operator."

https://www.nhpr.org/politics/2012-05-10/obama-heads-to-hollywood-conservative-group-mocks-celebrity-president

[–] grue@lemmy.world -1 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

In any case, operator isn’t necessarily negative, neither is political operator. It can be and often is [negative], but not necessarily.

It usually is, as in, more often than not.

Pretty much the only times I see it used as a compliment are from political wonks (e.g. the article you cited) or other politicians... in other words, people so deep in it they don't understand how much contempt normal people have for politicians, on average. To a normal person, "political operator" (not just "operator;" "political operator" specifically) is negative.

[–] Souvenir@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

The comment above which started this discussion was complementary, and you admitted as much in your reply to it.

Others have also said and provided examples of the phrase sometimes being complementary.

You yourself moved from saying:

It is always cynical to describe someone as a “political operator,” because that phrase is inherently negative.

To:

It usually is, as in, more often than not.

Ie. sometimes it is positive.

You were wrong about a phrase sometimes having a different connotation, it happens, who gives a shit?