NY Observer > U.S. Department of Homeland Security http://www.observer.com/taxonomy/term/24423/feed Articles from Observer.com en Moynihan Developers Court Homeland Security Cash http://www.observer.com/2007/moynihan-developers-court-homeland-security-cash

The state economic development agency and the private developers behind Moynihan Station have targeted an unlikely pot of money to help build the proposed $3 billion transit center in midtown west: homeland security dollars.

“This is a logical place for people to invest homeland dollars,” said James Dyer, a Washington, D.C.-based lobbyist who is representing Vornado Realty Trust and the Related Companies, the two firms that formed a joint venture to redevelop the Farley Post Office into Moynihan Station. “Anytime you have a station carrying more people through it that go through the airports at any one time, you obviously are going to have security concerns.”

The developers paid Mr. Dyer’s firm, Clark & Weinstock, $220,000 in the first half of the year to lobby the Department of Homeland Security as well as other more obvious targets, such as Amtrak and the Department of Transportation, according to federal lobbying records.  read more »

]]> http://www.observer.com/2007/moynihan-developers-court-homeland-security-cash#comments Real Estate Moynihan Station Patrick Foye U.S. Department of Homeland Security Tue, 18 Dec 2007 23:05:49 -0500 Matthew Schuerman 62235 at http://www.observer.com That Race on Long Island http://www.observer.com/node/30360 Here's another House race that has turned out to be sneaky-competitive: Republican Rep. Peter King versus Nassau legislator Dave Mejias.

They're debating tonight on Long Island and Mejias's campaign is planning to post a video of the debate on their website tomorrow (barring any tech issues). King and Mejias already debated this morning, to air on Nov. 2 at 4 p.m. on News 12.

What's interesting about this race is that King is the chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, a posting that was a source of great strength when he first got it, but that has become an asset of more dubious local value since the Dubai-port security deal and the Republican-led cutbacks in anti-terror funding to New York.

But part of the reason New York Democrats haven't made more noise about this race may be that Mejias was an early supporter of Tom Suozzi -- not something that has ingratiated him with the Spitzer-worshiping establishment.

I asked Mejias on the phone earlier he felt that any state Democrats might have continued to hold that against him.

"Like the Democrats inner circle?" he asked. "They may have, but I can't answer for them."

-- Azi Paybarah]]> http://www.observer.com/node/30360#comments Politics Nassau Thomas Suozzi U.S. Department of Homeland Security Tue, 17 Oct 2006 10:01:57 -0400 Observer Staff 30360 at http://www.observer.com Tamperproof ID Cards? Bush Must Be Dreaming http://www.observer.com/node/38977 When the President gave his little immigration speech, he wanted his listeners to be clear on one po  read more »]]> http://www.observer.com/node/38977#comments Colorado Kentucky Tom Tancredo U.S. Department of Homeland Security Sun, 11 Jun 2006 20:00:00 -0400 Nicholas von Hoffman 38977 at http://www.observer.com Editorials http://www.observer.com/node/52310 Dumb, Dumber and Dumbest  read more »]]> http://www.observer.com/node/52310#comments Sports New York Mets New York Yankees Ray Kelly U.S. Department of Homeland Security Sun, 11 Jun 2006 20:00:00 -0400 Observer Staff 52310 at http://www.observer.com Updike Does Islam, Colonizes New Jersey http://www.observer.com/node/38930 A delicious tension animates the best passages of Terrorist, a tug of war between the severe faith o  read more »]]> http://www.observer.com/node/38930#comments Arts & Culture Charlie Chehab John Updike New Jersey U.S. Department of Homeland Security Sun, 04 Jun 2006 20:00:00 -0400 Adam Begley 38930 at http://www.observer.com Brownie: FEMA Cannot Succeed http://www.observer.com/node/29070 Today's "Cities at Risk" conference, organized by Milano, The New School for Management and Urban Policy, could not have been planned more appropriately. Yesterday, President Bush named R. David Paulison to replace former FEMA director Michael Brown.  read more »]]> http://www.observer.com/node/29070#comments Politics FEMA James Lee Witt Michael D. Brown U.S. Department of Homeland Security Fri, 07 Apr 2006 07:41:53 -0400 Observer Staff 29070 at http://www.observer.com Fighting for Kerhonkson http://www.observer.com/node/27712
Whenever The Politicker notes all the security-related pork Hillary is bringing home to low-risk Upstate communities, the Senator's defenders argue that the allocations in question are set by federal agencies, not legislative whims, and that all she's doing is announcing them.

Anyway, in her latest announcement of $1.8 million in federal grants -- $82,162 for the Kerhonkson-Accord First Aid Squad, inter alia -- Clinton makes clear the obvious: that she also thinks this is the right way to allocate money from the Department of Homeland Security's budget:

"This is just the kind of help that our fire departments need as they deal with the challenge of keeping our communities safe, and right now, it is more important than ever that we give them the right resources to do the job," Senator Clinton said, according to the press release.
]]> http://www.observer.com/node/27712#comments Politics Accord First Aid Squad Google Inc. Hillary Clinton U.S. Department of Homeland Security Wed, 21 Sep 2005 11:07:00 -0400 Observer Staff 27712 at http://www.observer.com Security Pork Revisited http://www.observer.com/node/27593
The Observer has, at the greatest length here, followed Hillary's fight to steer resources from the Department of Homeland Security to rural fire departments and other agencies across New York State, which use them for things like buying pickup trucks and "hardening" the arena that is home to minor-league hockey's Albany River Rats.

The latest round were announced yesterday and, yes, Mumford is a big winner.

Post-Katrina, homeland security is obviously getting a lot of re-thinking. And grants to first responders sound all the more virtuous.

When you think about it, though, the thin, even layer of security spending spread across America looks even worse now. New Orleans, remember, was seen as being among the handful of places at the very highest risk of a catastrophe, because of its levee system. But Louisiana, like upstate New York, like Wyoming, only got its fair share of security money, and the upgrades of the levees proceeded, as has been painfully detailed, at a lesiurely pace.

So it still seems fair to wonder whether the $176,576 that Hillary has proudly dispatched to Stillwater reflects the best possible use of federal security money.
]]> http://www.observer.com/node/27593#comments Politics Louisiana New York U.S. Department of Homeland Security Wyoming Thu, 08 Sep 2005 08:31:00 -0400 Observer Staff 27593 at http://www.observer.com Hillary: More Security Pork http://www.observer.com/node/26965
We weren't sure whether Hillary had abandoned her quest to turn the Department of Homeland Security into an arm of the Hubbardsville Fire Department.

Well, she's still going strong.

In a letter to congressional leaders she sent out today, she cited 9/11 in her fight to preserve the Homeland Security program that issues grants to local fire companies, which, as we reported in December, kind of undermines her, and New York City's, argument that Homeland Security money should be distributed based on risk. (Not to mention that the local agencies use the money to buy pickup trucks and anti-drug gear.)

Her press release helpfully links to a website that tallies hundreds of recent grants. Here's a random sampling:

-$28,350 to Scoresby Hose Hook & Ladder Company No.1 in Ellenville, for "Wellness and Fitness Programs," inter alia.

-$73,267.00 to the East Randolph Fire Company for equipment.

-$132,864.00 to the Aurelius Fire District in Auburn for equipment and to "modify facilities." "These resources have enabled fire departments to obtain updated firefighting equipment and improve firefighter training - two activities that are crucial towards ensuring that firefighters carry out their expanded responsibilities in this post-9/11 world," she wrote in the letter to Senate leaders.
]]> http://www.observer.com/node/26965#comments Politics Ellenville Hubbardsville Fire Department Scoresby Hose Hook & Ladder Company U.S. Department of Homeland Security Tue, 26 Apr 2005 13:43:00 -0400 Observer Staff 26965 at http://www.observer.com Clinton: Fighting for Security Pork http://www.observer.com/node/26712
In December, we reported on how local politicians spend half their time denouncing the Bush Administration for sending Homeland Security grants to Wyoming, and the other half fighting for equally ridiculous grants for Upstate New York. The money winds up getting spent on things like anti-drug programs and pickup trucks for cash-strapped rural communites very, very low on Al Qaeda's target list.

Ontario County emergency management chief Jeffrey Harloff told us at the time: "If it's the federal government asking me, it is for the intended purpose of W.M.D. incidents and HazMat incidents. In reality, we're going to use it for everyday stuff in our office."

Now, Hillary has always been the master of the rich new field we called "security pork," and her press release yesterday couldn't have demonstrated the contradiction more clearly:

"SENATOR CLINTON ANNOUNCES OVER $2.6 MILLION IN FEDERAL FIREFIGHTER GRANTS FOR NEW YORK AND EXPRESSES SERIOUS CONCERN ABOUT DEVASTATING CUTS TO FIRE ACT IN BUSH'S BUDGET PROPOSAL"

Where are these grants going?

Albany (of course), Cayuga, Chenango, Clinton, Columbia, Erie, Jefferson, Kings, Montgomery, Nassau, Niagara, Onondaga, Oswego, Otsego, Suffolk and Wayne Counties.

We realize Senators see it as their job to fight for pork, but when it comes to the Department of Homeland Security, perhaps New York's representatives would be able to press the case for the city more convincingly if they weren't so busy handing out checks in Otsego County, where the top terror target -- we're not kidding, this is what they told us -- is the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Hillary couldn't quite bring herself to say that this is actually anti-terror spending. The best she could do in the press release was, "Every dollar that our local communities receive means extra resources not only to help them fight fires but to help them respond to other emergencies and ensure public safety."

But perhaps this money could be found somewhere other than the Department of Homeland Security, which we'd (we know, vainly) hoped was busy guarding actual terror targets. Like our city. So if this is a program that directs federal security money to places like Chenango County (pop. 51,401), we say: Cut away!
]]> http://www.observer.com/node/26712#comments Politics Hillary Clinton Jeffrey Harloff U.S. Department of Homeland Security Wyoming Thu, 10 Feb 2005 07:48:57 -0500 Observer Staff 26712 at http://www.observer.com