Postcards from the edgy

Homeland Security Chief Michael Chertoff has been getting plenty of mail from Queens and the rest of the five boroughs these days as a postcard campaign continues in response to the recently-announced anti-terrorism funding cuts.
New York City received $207.7 million in anti-terrorism funding last year. That amount has now been downsized to $124.5 million. While that represents a 40 percent decrease for New York, other cities such as Louisville, KY, Charlotte, NC and Omaha, NE received a 60 percent increase in funding.
Last week, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and Representative Peter T. King responded to the funding cut by starting a postcard campaign. The campaign encourages New Yorkers to send postcards to Chertoff that show him the city’s icons, financial centers, landmarks and infrastructure targets to illustrate the threat Queens and the rest of the city faces daily.
Queens alone has miles of subways, Long Island Rail Road tracks, two major airports, an under-the-river tunnel, three bridges - none of which has been blast-proofed - a racetrack, many landmarks and historical sites as well as Shea Stadium. All are potential targets for terrorists.
Along with Clinton and King, others support the postcard campaign include former mayors David Dinkins and Ed Koch, FDNY Captain Peter Gorman, president of the Uniformed Fire Officers Union and Michael J. Palladino, president of the Detectives Endowment Association.
Recently, Congressman Gary Ackerman also sent reproductions of 10 vintage postcards showing landmarks such as the Empire State Building, Times Square, Trinity Church, the Flatiron Building and the Bowne House in Queens.
“The Department of Homeland Security and Secretary Chertoff need to understand that New York City still remains the number one target for terrorists,” Ackerman said.
“Cutting funds now only makes us more susceptible to attack. The federal government must continue to put its resources where there is the highest probability of an attack. It’s just common sense.”
You may send your icon and landmark postcards and a personal message to Michael Chertoff, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Washington DC 20528.