Washington – New York Jewish Institutions To Receive $5 Million Grant To Protect From Terrorist Attacks

Washington – Today, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer announced that $4,995,121 in federal grants are coming to Jewish synagogues, schools, and community centers across the New York City area.

Jewish institutions across all five boroughs and Nassau County will receive funding under the Urban Areas Security Initiative Nonprofit Security Grant Program (UASI-NSGP). Seventy-one non-profit Jewish organizations were qualified for funding to supplement their security budgets. To qualify for the grant program an organization must be at high-risk for a terrorist attack and be located in one of the UASI’s specified Urban Areas. The grant would protect against threats similar to the Riverdale Jewish Center and Riverdale Synagogue bomb scares, in which four men plotted to detonate a bomb. The Riverdale Jewish Center and Riverdale Synagogue both received funding under this grant program.

“The recent effort to detonate a bomb at the Riverdale Jewish Center and Riverdale Synagogue was a stark reminder that there are enemies at work that seek to bring murder and mayhem here and that New York is the number one terror target in the country,” Schumer said. “The funding approved today by the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee recognizes this reality by targeting resources to fund vital security efforts here in New York City at our vulnerable organizations.”

The FY 2010 UASI NSGP provides funding support for target-hardening activities to nonprofit organizations that are at high risk of terrorist attack and are located within one of the specific UASI-eligible Urban Areas.