He’s eating crow — instead of eating the rich.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani acknowledged billionaire Ken Griffin’s contribution to a new NYPD memorial honoring 9/11 heroes Tuesday — amid blowback for targeting the businessman in a “tax the rich” video.
Hizzoner issued a brief thanks to the Citadel hedge fund CEO as he attended the police department’s annual ceremony adding the names of officers who died in the line of duty to the hallowed Hall of Heroes at NYPD headquarters.
“I want to thank everyone who is here with us in the Hall of Heroes today, with special thanks to Police Commissioner [Jessica] Tisch and NYPD leadership,” Mamdani said at One Police Plaza, in front of department brass and families of slain officers.
“I also want to thank Ken Griffin for funding a memorial wall that will open later this year,” he added.
“Most of all, I want to recognize the family members of the fallen officers whom we are here to commemorate.”
Mamdani’s short admission of appreciation for the uber-wealthy businessman came after the democratic socialist mayor doubled down Friday on what critics called a potentially “dangerous” personal attack on Griffin.
Mamdani did not say he regretted, when asked by reporters, his viral April 15 video filmed outside Griffin’s 24,000-square-foot pad on Central Park South celebrating Gov. Kathy Hochul’s proposed pied-á-terre tax on second homes worth at least $5 million in the city.
Griffin didn’t take kindly to getting dragged by the mayor’s publicity stunt, with Citadel COO Gerald Beeson calling it “shameful” and hinting the fund might pull a $6 billion development in Midtown.
Mamdani “manifested the ignorance and disdain of the elite political class towards those who have been consistently committed to building one of the greatest cities in the world,” Beeson wrote to staff in a company-wide letter Thursday.
The mayor didn’t show remorse for his video when pressed on it by reporters the following day, but stressed he wants all New Yorkers to succeed, even Griffin.
The police commissioner was a lot more effusive in her praise of Griffin’s donation to the New York City Police Foundation that will help fund a dedicated wall in the lobby of 1PP honoring officers killed on Sept. 11, 2001 and those who succumbed later to illnesses tied to the recovery effort.
“That story has always deserved its own space, and it is made possible through the generosity of the police foundation, and a remarkable personal commitment from Ken Griffin. We are deeply grateful to both,” Tisch said during the event.
“Taken together, the loss represented on those walls is larger than any one ceremony can convey. It stretches across decades of this department’s history.”
A spokesperson for Griffin told The Post the philanthropist gave hundreds of thousand dollars at the non-profit’s request. He did not attend Tuesday’s ceremony because a prior commitment out of the county, the rep said.
The memorial service marked the addition of another 103 names to the solemn hall, including Didarul Islam, who was killed while working off-duty, but still in uniform, in the Park Avenue mass shooting on July 28, 2025. He was posthumously promoted to the rank of detective.
“Last summer after his senseless murder, Detective Islam’s family welcomed me into their home. They spoke of a father, a sibling, a brother in law who was humble, generous, and kind,” Mamdani said in front of Islam’s wife and other family members. “The Hall of Heroes is a testament to an unbreakable community. “
The names of another 60 members of the NYPD who died from the COVID-19 pandemic were also added. All of the names were read while soft piano music played.
The new addition honoring 9/11 heroes is expected to be complete by the 25th anniversary of the city’s darkest day.
— Additional reporting by Craig McCarthy