Sorry Toledo! New York City scores $152M in anti-terror funds
BY Alison GendarDaily News
May 19, 2011
WASHINGTON - New York City has managed to muscle out a slew of smaller cities for precious homeland security funds, lawmakers revealed Wednesday.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano cut the number of cities eligible for a slice of the funding pie from 64 down to 32 - ensuring the city received a bigger share.
New York will now get the same amount as last year - $151.57 million - from a program designed to protect at-risk cities and key targets from a terrorist attack.
"New York was and remains a terror target, while some of the other communities were clearly less so, so the changes were made," said Rep. Pete King (R-Nassau), boss of the House Homeland Security Committee.
An eleventh-hour budget deal reached last month sliced 20% of the funding for the program, which pays for equipment, weapons and counterterrorism training.
The dwindling amount of cash prompted New York lawmakers to argue the eligible list - which included cities such as Toledo, Ohio, and Omaha - be drastically reduced.
Napolitano finally agreed.
The top 10 most at-risk cities on the list will escape the 20% funding reduction.
New York will also pocket an additional $31 million to secure the area's ports.