New York got a raw deal on homeland security cash again this year, with the harsh federal funding cuts from two years ago mostly intact, Sen. Chuck Schumer said yesterday.
Despite promises to local pols that the Big Apple would be treated fairly, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff gave the city only $134 million to protect itself against terrorism this year, he said – $73 million less than the city got in 2005, Schumer said.
“Once again, New York is in for a major disappointment,” said Schumer, who got a sneak peak at the funding decision, set to be announced in the next week. “Homeland Security is shortchanging us again.”
Under a new funding formula, the country’s six high-risk urban areas – New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston and Washington – divvy up 55 percent of the pot.
Another 39 cities get to split the remainder of the $747 million.
“When you look at the threats terrorists make, they don’t talk about Houston,” Schumer said. “They don’t talk about Los Angeles . . . they talk about New York.”