Gov. Kathy Hochul on Thursday accused the White House of attempting to “defund the police” by withholding $34 million in antiterrorism and security funding for the New York City subway and regional railroads, stoking a continued feud with the Trump administration.
At a news conference at the Lower Manhattan headquarters of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Ms. Hochul admonished the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for withholding money from what she said was the nation’s biggest terrorism target. The governor, a Democrat, also said the Trump administration was targeting New York State for political reasons.
“In a stark moment of hypocrisy, the federal government is literally threatening our ability to keep these operations safe,” Ms. Hochul said as she stood in front of a bank of monitors showing security camera footage of subway stations, bridges and tunnels.
Last week, federal officials decided not to disburse New York’s share of the Transit Security Grant Program, amounting to roughly 40 percent of the nearly $84 million total fund. The state uses the grant money to support counterterrorism efforts in the subway and on the Metro-North and Long Island Rail Road.
Jessica Tisch, New York City’s police commissioner, said the program, which was established after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, had supported efforts including bomb squads, canine teams and undercover officers who have sought out chemical and nuclear threats, among other risks.
Ms. Tisch said there have been eight plots targeting the New York City subway since Sept. 11, 2001.
Of the 21 transit agencies nationwide that had applied for the security grant this year, Ms. Hochul said New York’s transit authority was the only one that had been refused.
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