WASHINGTON – New York City has scored $179 million in federal grants to fight terrorism this year.
But that could be the last large payment if Congress doesn’t restore the Obama Administration’s proposed cut to a critical terror-fighting grant program in 2017, officials warned.
Under this year’s awards, the city will get the money through the Urban Areas Security Initiative, a program Mayor de Blasio has called “absolutely essential” to keep the Big Apple safe.
It’s a slight decrease from the $181 million won last year and reflects an across-the-board 1 percent decrease in the national program.
For now, the city did relatively well.
The MTA will receive $22.5 million to make transit systems more resilient.
The Port Authority netted netted $6.7 million, a $2.7 million increase from last year.
Another $20.9 million is being dedicated to secure maritime infrastructure and to support security training. Those funds will be divided among the Port Authority, NYPD, fire and transportation departments, and other local governments.
De Blasio testified in March before a congressional committee led by Staten Island Rep. Dan Donovan – that a proposed 50 percent cut to the Urban Areas Security Initiative grant for 2017 made no sense considering that the city is terrorist target No. 1.
