By Hank Russell
Governor Kathy Hochul announced on June 10 that nearly $140 million in federal funding is available to support counterterrorism and emergency preparedness efforts across the state. The money will come from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) through its FY 2025 Homeland Security Grant Program and its Emergency Management Performance Grant.
FEMA’s Homeland Security Grant Program is comprised of three separate risk-based grants aimed at assisting state, local and tribal efforts in preventing, preparing for, protecting against and responding to acts of terrorism. Those programs, according to the governor’s office, are the State Homeland Security Program, the Urban Area Security Initiative and Operation Stonegarden.
“Threat landscapes are constantly evolving, and it is vital that our communities are prepared for anything that may come their way,” Hochul said. “With this funding, we’re making sure our partners at every level of government have the training and resources needed to keep New Yorkers safe. We are grateful to our federal partners for their assistance in securing these grants to help make New York a safer and more secure place for all.”
Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services Commissioner Terry O’Leary said, “Keeping New Yorkers safe from all threats is our top priority and this commitment from our federal partners in fighting terrorism is critical when it comes to the State’s preparedness capabilities. These grants help support our State agencies and local partners by ensuring law enforcement and first responders have the resources, training, and equipment they need to prevent harm and keep us all safe.”
Long Island received more than $2.1 million from the State Homeland Security Program. The $38.2 million program provides funding to prevent, protect against, respond to, and recover from acts of terrorism and other catastrophic disasters. Per federal guidelines, the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services awards 80 percent of this funding to local jurisdictions.
Of that amount, Nassau County received $1,142,644 and Suffolk County got $740,787.
Nassau and Suffolk were also the recipients of the Emergency Management Performance Grant. The federal grant — amounting to $6.6 million — was awarded to county emergency management agencies in New York State to support planning and operational readiness for disaster response.
Funding may be used to support management and administration activities, planning, staffing for emergency management agencies, equipment, training and exercises, construction and renovation of emergency operations centers and maintenance and sustainment of GIS and interoperable communications systems.
Nassau was awarded $441,299 in funding from the grant, while Suffolk received $481,981.
Both counties will also receive a share of the $92.2 million Urban Area Security Initiative. This funding is awarded to jurisdictions in the New York City metropolitan area under the Urban Area Security Initiative grant. The region will use this money to sustain and enhance its critical anti-terrorism programs. Based on federal guidelines, 80% of the award is allocated to partners in the region’s Urban Area Working Group (UAWG), using a consensus-based process. The UAWG partners include: New York City; Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester counties; the City of Yonkers; and the Port Authority of New York/New Jersey.
The remaining 20 percent of funding is used by the state to further enhance New York’s counterterrorism and emergency preparedness posture within the urban area.
“As we near the 25th anniversary of the September 11th terror attacks, New York remains the top terror target in the world,” said U.S. Representative Andrew Garbarino (R-Bayport), chairman of the Homeland Security Committee. “DHS’s counterterrorism and preparedness grants are essential to protecting Long Islanders from these evolving threats and preparing for the future.”