Terrified Yet?

Back on April 13, we asked you whether a terrorist would rather target New York City, NY or Kansas City, KS.
It was a silly question then - asked only to highlight the need for passage of Representative Anthony Weiner’s Targeting Homeland Security Resources Effectively Against Terrorism (THREAT) legislation. The THREAT bill would cap the number of cities eligible for high-threat, high-density grants at 15 instead of the current 46 which cover over 600 cities and towns.
Weiner, a member of the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security, was concerned that New York City might lose even more funding than they did the year before and his fears were well founded.
Last year, New York City received $207.7 million in anti-terror funding. The city’s new amount for the coming year has been reduced by 40 percent to just $124.5 million. Michael Chertoff, the Homeland Security Secretary, has sent 8 million New Yorkers a loud and clear message: DROP DEAD NEW YORK!
To add insult to injury - and yes, a 40 percent cut in security funds will injure the city’s ability to protect its residents - the wrong minded, beady-eyed bureaucrat, Chertoff, called New York the “No. 1 terror target,” four times in his speech last week.
Incredibly, Chertoff’s Homeland Security officials found that New York City had no national monuments or icons and few major banking institutions - guess they never heard of Wall Street? Chertoff said the city’s landmarks, like the Empire State Building, were merely counted as infrastructure in the grants calculations and he pointed out that our most fabled national monument, Lady Liberty, stands on federal land.
Weiner’s THREAT Act should have been made law but it was not. It would have gone a long way toward assuring that our city - with a population of 8,000,000 - would not be competing against (and losing out to) cities like Omaha, NE with a population of 409,416. Chertoff awarded Omaha a 62 percent increase in anti-terrorism funding from $5.1 million to $8.3 million.
Are you terrified yet?
The borough of Queens, with a population of two million, has more residents than 16 of the 46 eligible areas that receive anti-terror funds. Queens is home to terror targets like three major bridges - none of which have been made blast-proof yet - an under-the-river tunnel, two major airports, a professional baseball stadium, an historic world’s fair site, a subway system and the Long Island Rail Road commuter lines - remember London’s recent terror attacks.
We cannot ignore this slight by Chertoff. “If people threaten me or yell at me, that’s not going to make me change my mind,” he vowed. Let us make this know-nothing beady-eyed enemy of New York City eat his words. Give our New York delegation the power and volume to make Secretary Chertoff eat his words.
Are you terrified yet?
We are! Call, write, email - empower your elected officials. Do it now!