United States Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand announced today that New York City has received a total of $151,579,096 in Urban Areas Security Initiative Funding (UASI), a huge victory for the City’s anti-terror efforts, in the face of steep cuts elsewhere. The UASI program is the lifeblood of New York’s anti-terror programs and funds the critical surveillance program for downtown Manhattan and its expansion into Times Square and midtown. New York also received the entire funding pot of $22 million for the Securing the Cities (STC) program, which funds the New York Police Department (NYPD) program that detects potential radiological devices that can be brought over bridges and tunnels into Manhattan. The funds include $27,838,954 for the MTA, $5,200,000 for the New York City Department of Transportation, and $5,550,000 for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
“The vital anti-terror check is in the mail and headed to the right address – New York City,” said Schumer. “This funding recognizes that New York remains the top terror target in the nation and it will provide law enforcement with the tools they need to continue keeping us safe.”
“New York City remains the top terror target in the nation and we must continue to be vigilant in investing federal resources to keep us safe, said Senator Gillibrand. “Maintaining these critical anti-terror funds will help arm law enforcement with the tools needed to protect New York families.”
Senator Schumer secured a directive in the FY12 Homeland Security Appropriations Bill stating that not less than $100 million dollars would go the areas facing the greatest security risk. This language allowed New York’s funding stream to remain stable while the rest of the country was forced to withstand a 42% reduction. Schumer and Gillibrand, working with Congressman King, aggressively lobbied the administration to maintain existing funding levels for New York City.