U.S. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer and U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) announced that New York City is set to receive $178,750,000 in federal funding to fight terrorism.
Schumer and Gillibrand also announced $76,930,000 in State Homeland Security Program (SHSP) funding for New York, which helps implement anti-terrorism strategies outside of urban areas. This funding is administered by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and through the Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI). The UASI program provides funding to address the unique needs of high-threat, high-density urban areas by helping to prevent, protect against, mitigate, respond to, and recover from acts of terrorism.
Through UASI’s Nonprofit Security Grant Program, $11,096,805 will be awarded to 116 nonprofit organizations in the New York City area that are at high-risk of an attack to improve their security. Earlier this year, Schumer and Gillibrand announced their push, which Gillibrand led with a bipartisan coalition of senators, to increase funding for the NSGP in Fiscal Year 2020 to $75 million – the highest level yet – to protect nonprofit institutions that are at risk of being targeted for terror attacks. Synagogues, churches, mosques, and other faith-based community centers are just a few examples of nonprofit organizations that could apply for these funds.
“With both ISIS-inspired attacks and horrific hate crimes targeting places of worship becoming more frequent across the globe, we must do all we can to help protect top terror targets like New York City and help people of all faiths worship in safety and security,” said Senator Schumer. “Federal security funds, like UASI, are the cornerstone of effective preparedness and prevention against terror threats and enable local law enforcement, like the NYPD, to do all they can to keep New Yorkers safe. I have been a strong supporter of counter-terrorism funds for New York City and I will do everything in my power to continue fighting for these funds to make sure that New York and all houses of worship are protected.”
The FY 2019 Homeland Security Grant Program (HSGP) is composed of three related grant programs: State Homeland Security Program (SHSP), Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI), and Operation Stonegarden (OPSG). HSGP provides grant funding to help state and local governments obtain the resources required to protect against, mitigate, respond to, and recover from acts of terrorism and other catastrophic events.
