Mamdani Announces New York City Veterans Walk on Sept. 13

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is inviting residents to honor veterans by carrying a military-style load through the city on Sept. 13. The Remembrance Ruck will cover 1.5 miles, beginning at Cadman Plaza in Brooklyn and ending at Foley Square in Manhattan.

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For many of our veterans, carrying a backpack was part of their daily service, a symbol of resilience and endurance. This bag is an opportunity to honor their service and sacrifice, as well as the military families who shared the burden of that service.

The event draws on rucking, a form of exercise associated with military training. Participants who want to take part can carry a weighted backpack during the walk. The city’s Department of Veterans’ Services, which is organizing the event with the Mamdani administration, will provide empty backpacks and one-gallon water bottles that participants can use as weights.

“For many of our veterans, carrying a backpack was part of their daily service, a symbol of resilience and endurance. This bag is an opportunity to honor their service and sacrifice, as well as the military families who shared the burden of that service,” Mamdani said in a video posted to X.

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Participating with a weighted backpack is at your own risk. Please exercise caution.

The walk is scheduled to start at 9 a.m. local time. Afterward, a resource fair at Surrogate’s Court will connect veterans and their families with services involving housing, health care, medical support and humanitarian assistance. Organizers warned that anyone taking part with a weighted backpack does so at their own risk and urged participants to exercise caution.

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For us, September 11 is not a political occasion, a photo opportunity or a platform for public officials.

Mamdani is also expected to attend ceremonies marking Sept. 11, according to ABC 7 New York. Retired Port Authority police officers have asked him and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul not to attend the commemorations. “For us, September 11 is not a political occasion, a photo opportunity or a platform for public officials,” association president John McDevitt wrote to Mamdani, according to Fox News. “It is a solemn day of remembrance for those who were killed, those who responded to the emergency, those who survived and the families who have endured these losses.”

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It is a solemn day of remembrance for those who were killed, those who responded to the emergency, those who survived and the families who have endured these losses.