US judge halts fed government withholding NY transit security funds
(MENAFN) A federal judge has temporarily halted the US government’s attempt to withhold $34 million earmarked for protecting New York’s transit network from terrorism, citing the city’s vulnerability following the 9/11 attacks and other ongoing threats.
Judge Lewis A. Kaplan stated that New York is "quite likely" to prove that the funding was being improperly redirected as part of an effort by the Trump administration to punish the state for not cooperating with its broad deportation agenda.
The ruling takes the form of a temporary restraining order and will stay in effect until October 15, when Kaplan is expected to rule on whether to issue a more permanent injunction.
The state had filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, arguing that the Rail and Transit Security Grant Program—established in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks—was specifically designed to protect transit systems against chemical, biological, radiological, and explosive dangers.
Reports noted that this was not the only cut affecting New York’s security funding. The administration also reduced the city police department’s counterterrorism allocation from $90 million to about $10 million, a move NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch described as “profoundly bad news.”
In issuing the restraining order, Kaplan underscored that the program must be distributed based on the level of terrorist risk. “Obviously, New York is no stranger to risks of terrorist attacks and it’s not just 9/11 that tells us that,” he said, referencing multiple incidents dating back to the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.
The judge further concluded that it is “reasonably likely, quite likely” that New York will demonstrate the funding cuts were politically motivated, tied to the administration’s effort to punish states and cities unwilling to take part in what it labeled “the largest deportation mission in history.”
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