New York officials are hoping for some extra help from Washington, D.C., in the form of additional millions of federal dollars to increase the city’s efforts to prevent terrorist attacks.
On Friday, October 9, U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer and Congressmember Joseph Crowley joined other elected officials and New York City Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly by the City Hall/Brooklyn Bridge subway station to advocate for the increased federal funding needed to keep New Yorkers safe.
“New York City must always be vigilant, and thankfully we have the best police force in the world working 24/7 to protect our citizens and to disrupt terrorist attacks before they happen,” Crowley said.
“Constant surveillance, trained personnel and up-to-date equipment, however, require significant funding.”
Soon, Congress is expected to vote on the Department of Homeland Security of Appropriations bill, which includes more than $4.17 billion in security grants including $900 million in high threat direct grants, $300 million to help transit security and $300 million for port security. It is still unclear how much New York City will receive in funding.
The renewed call for additional funding comes shortly after the NYPD helped the FBI break up an apparent terror plot arresting a Queens man, Najibullah Zazi, who authorities believe was involved in planning a large-scale attack that would target parts of the city transit system.
“With new threats emerging right here in New York City, this new funding will be critical to help law enforcement beef up and modernize its security systems,” Schumer said.
After 9/11, Crowley and Schumer helped create a new grant program, the Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI), which provides special support to communities under the greatest threat of attack. In the 2009 Fiscal Year, the city received more than $145 million in UASI grants and nearly $952 million since the program began back in 2002.
This year, President Obama’s administration has added $50 million nationwide to the UASI grants, but it is still unclear how much the city will receive for FY 2010.
“We’re hopeful that there is a potential for more for New York City this year,” said a Crowley aide.
