Federal grants for upgrading security will go to 68 applicants in New York State this year, and 75 percent of those are potential Jewish targets.
Sites in New York State received almost a third of the $15 million distributed nationwide for 2009 by the Department of Homeland Security. All but seven are in New York City.
The Jewish Community Relations Council, which assists Jewish organizations applying for the funds said there were a total of 138 applications in New York. The list of approved grants will not be publicized.
“Homeland Security has asked that the list remain confidential to give applicants the opportunity to address their vulnerabilities,” said David Pollock of the JCRC.
The funds are in addition to grants of $25,000 each given to two Riverdale synagogues that authorities said were the targets of a foiled bomb plot last month.
On Monday, the JCRC, the Riverdale JCRC and the Riverdale Y held a security program for representatives of 52 institutions in that Bronx neighborhood, featuring speakers from the NYPD, FBI and John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Topics included access control and the detection of hostile surveillance.
Pollock said the bomb plot had transformed the area to a “high-profile, highly vulnerable” community.
In Washington, House members have voted to maintain the appropriation for security upgrades at $15 million for next year while members of the Senate, including New York Democrats Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, have pushed for an increase to at least $20 million.
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