New York City stiffed on anti-terrorism funds

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
New York City, where a terrorist attack destroyed the World Trade Center towers, has again lost out in the distribution of federal anti-terrorism funding, members of the state's congressional delegation complained Saturday. The numbers are not official yet, but Sen. Charles Schumer and Rep. Peter King said the city is scheduled to receive about $134 million (€98.6 million) from an urban security grant program _ an increase of about 8 percent from last year but still $73 million (€53.7 million) less than the city received two years ago. "Why do they persist in giving money to places that need it a lot less than New York City?" said Schumer, a Democrat. "It's a disgrace. It's confounding. ... It's once again unfair to New York. Our needs are different than any other city." Last year, New Yorkers complained long and loudly after the Department of Homeland Security slashed anti-terrorism funding for the city by $83 million (€61 million). America's largest city lost 40 percent of its funding just five years after the World Trade Center terrorist attacks, while federal money was increased in such places as Louisville, Kentucky, and Omaha, Nebraska.