Security funding may be coming for NY nonprofits

Jul 25, 2006 4:11 PM

The Department of Homeland Security says it is preparing to release $25 million in anti-terrorist funding for New York City nonprofit organizations, The New York Sun reports.
The announcement followed a press conference during which New York Reps. Anthony Weiner and Carolyn Maloney urged the department to make the funds available months after Congress appropriated them.
The department "still hasn't solicited applications or announced a timeline for when the grants will be distributed," Weiner, a Democrat, said.
"We urge you to make sure that there are no further delays, and that the grants are distributed -- on the basis of threat -- to the places that need it most," the legislators said in a letter addressed to Homeland security secretary Michael Chertoff.
The money will go toward helping New York's cultural, health and religious institutions fund anti-terrorist initiatives such as the installment of cameras and barriers in museums and synagogues.
"New York City's museums, hospitals and religious institutions are spending millions to protect themselves while DHS ignores Congress and sits critically on needed security funds," Weiner said.
The FBI has found that terrorist operatives have been sending videos and photographs of targets in New York, including synagogues and Jewish community centers, Mr. Weiner and Ms. Maloney, who is also a Democrat, said. The FBI is also said to have been in contact with Jewish community leaders.
In a statement dated July 13, Chertoff said that he had "personally directed that these resources be made available and promptly and appropriately allocated." The department is doing the "necessary legal work" to make the money available, a Homeland security press officer, Joanna Gonzalez, said.
Last year, New York's nonprofit organizations received $5.4 million in anti-terrorist funding from the department, the New York Sun reports.

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