Funding Will Help Communities Statewide Prevent, Respond to and Recover From Manmade and Natural Disasters and Emergencies

Governor Kathy Hochul on Nov 25th, announced nearly $220 million in federal funding to support counterterrorism and emergency preparedness efforts across New York State. The funding, provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency through its FY2024 Homeland Security Grant Program, supports regional homeland security preparedness efforts, including planning, organization, equipment, training and exercise activities which are critical to sustaining and improving community prevention, protection, response and recovery capabilities. The New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services manages these programs in close coordination with local stakeholders.

“New York State boasts the strongest and most capable emergency preparedness forces in the nation, and thanks to this federal funding we are making sure we have the best resources available to protect our communities,” Governor Hochul said. “Through the partnership between federal, state and local government, we are putting the safety of New Yorkers at the center of our efforts — ensuring that whatever threats come our way, we will be prepared to meet them.”

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 are the State Homeland Security Program, the Urban Area Security Initiative and Operation Stonegarden.

Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services Commissioner Jackie Bray said, “Funding from our federal partners plays a crucial role in the State’s preparedness capabilities. These grants will go a long way to make sure New York communities have resources that help them with security preparedness including training and equipment that can improve prevention and protection as well as response and recovery capabilities.”

Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer said, “From Buffalo to Long Island, nearly $220 million in federal funding is being invested to ensure that communities in every corner of New York are prepared for preventing and responding to natural emergencies and security threats – from increasing cybersecurity, to strengthening information-sharing for local and federal law enforcement, to boosting resilience to natural disasters. I fought to secure funding for FEMA’s Homeland Security Grant Program in last year’s budget bill so communities could bolster both threat prevention and preparation for whatever emergencies and threats—including from hate-driven violence—might come our way, and I’m thrilled they are delivering for New York today. I’m grateful for Governor Hochul’s work putting these federal dollars to good use.”

State Homeland Security Program - $61.2 million
The State Homeland Security 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. This includes the list of awards below, as well as an additional suite of targeted grants which will be made available in the coming months. The remaining 20 percent of funding is used by the state to further enhance New York’s counterterrorism and emergency preparedness posture statewide.

Investments were required to support the following priority areas in an effort to build statewide capabilities:

- Enhancing Intelligence and Information Sharing and Analysis Capabilities

- Enhancing the Protection of Soft Targets/Crowded Places

- Combating Domestic Violent Extremism

- Enhancing Community Preparedness and Resilience

- Enhancing Cybersecurity Capabilities

- Enhancing Election Security

Award amounts are listed below:

Urban Area Security Initiative - $156.1 million
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 their critical anti-terrorism programs. Based on federal guidelines, 80% of the award is allocated to partners in the region's Urban Area Working Group, using a consensus-based process, and the consensus agreement for these funds is outlined below.

An additional $12,117,502 million will also be allocated and is included in the awards below from the State's portion of the FY2024 Urban Area Security Initiative grant, in recognition of the New York City urban area partner’s unique position in terms of potential threats from terrorist-related activities. The remaining funding is used by the state to further enhance New York’s counterterrorism and emergency preparedness posture within the urban area.

Award amounts are listed below:

Operation Stonegarden Grant Program - $2.6 million
This grant provides critical funding to enhance cooperation and coordination between federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies through the support of joint operations which are conducted along the northern border.

About the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services
The New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services provides leadership, coordination and support for efforts to prevent, protect against, prepare for, respond to, and recover from terrorism and other man-made and natural disasters, threats, fires and other emergencies. For more information, visit the DHSES Facebook page, follow @NYSDHSES on Twitter, or Instagram, or visit dhses.ny.gov.