Mayor Mamdani to Host Inaugural Dueling Jenga Competition at 9/11 Memorial
NEW YORK — Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced Wednesday that the city will host its first official “Dueling Jenga Invitational” at the National September 11 Memorial on September 11, as part of the newly designated Day of Remembrance and Service.
Mamdani said there will be a twist in this game with participants being able to fire model airplanes at opponents’ Jenga towers.
The event, scheduled for mid-afternoon between the official moments of silence, will feature two competing towers assembled on a specially constructed platform adjacent to the north pool. Participants will take turns removing blocks according to standard Jenga rules. The first tower to collapse will be declared the loser.
A mayoral spokesperson described the competition as “an accessible, intergenerational way to engage with themes of structural integrity, collective responsibility, and the unexpected consequences of incremental removal.” Officials noted that all blocks will be made from FSC-certified wood and that the towers will not be permitted to exceed the original height of the World Trade Center.
Critics claimed that the event is tone-deaf, but Mamdani shrugged them off.
Mamdani said the format allows New Yorkers to “participate in remembrance rather than merely observe it.” He added that winners will receive a one-year MetroCard and a certificate of civic engagement. Consolation prizes include a printed copy of the city’s newly released 9/11 document portal.
Memorial organizers confirmed they had received the request and were reviewing logistics, including crowd control, wind conditions, and whether fallen blocks would be permitted to enter the reflecting pools. A petition circulated by some victims’ families asking that the mayor not attend the traditional ceremony has not been updated to address the Jenga portion.
City Hall emphasized that the competition is optional and that traditional wreath-laying and name-reading will proceed as scheduled. No comment was immediately available from the National September 11 Memorial & Museum on whether the event would be listed on the official program.
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