By Alex Christodoulides
Eight Queens nonprofit organizations and religious institutions are among about 60 recipients citywide of U.S. Department of Homeland Security grants that will allow them to make their premises safer, U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-Forest Hills) announced last week on the steps of the Hillcrest Jewish Center.
The grants brought some $4 million in federal money — $582,000 to Queens alone — to city organizations that may be seen as potential targets, such as religious institutions, hospitals and universities.
Representatives of six beneficiary organizations joined Weiner at the Union Turnpike shul: New York Hospital Queens, Peninsula Hospital, the Samuel Field Y, Hillcrest Jewish Center, St. John's University and the Center for Conservative Judaism. Two others wished to avoid publicity.
“We're going to use it to better secure some of our labs where there are hazardous materials,” said Brian Browne, St. John's assistant vice president of government relations. The school received $62,000 that will go to install key card and swipe card readers to identify people who are authorized to enter those labs, Browne said.
“It's high time DHS realized that our nonprofit institutions were at risk. Worshipers, museumgoers and hospital visitors expect and deserve a safe environment, and these grants will go a long way towards ensuring their safety,” Weiner said.
The grants are capped at $75,000, and the average grant is about $70,000, but organizations can apply annually, Weiner said. The program was created in 2004 after Weiner offered legislation in the Judiciary Committee. The money cannot go to personnel, but may be used to pay for surveillance cameras, training for security staff, barriers and controlled entry systems.
Hillcrest Jewish Center's director of security, Mark Lefkof, declined to give the exact amount the temple had received but said the grant “was very substantial.”
“It will go to enhance the security of the temple, upgrade items we have and add new technology along the perimeter, and in the interior and exterior of the building,” he said, but declined to be more specific.
Reach reporter Alex Christodoulides by e-mail at achristodoulides@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 155.
