According to the Jerusalem Post, the Department of Homeland Security has allocated $1.83 million to boost safety at Jewish institutions in Brooklyn.
More than two dozen Jewish organizations in Brooklyn, including yeshivot, synagogues and the Children’s Museum, will receive funds as part of the program, in an effort to offset security costs at non-profit institutions considered particularly high-risk by officials.
Representative Anthony D. Weiner announced the grants recently at the Bnot Yisroel School for Girls in Flatbush, one of the facilities set to receive the funds. “Despite the fact that we are safe in New York, there remain too many people ready to commit acts of hate,” Weiner said.
As much as $75,000 will be awarded to each of 26 Brooklyn non-profits, with the money designated for security measures including surveillance equipment, bullet-proofing and electronically controlled entries and exits.
The Brooklyn organizations are expected to receive the grants within the next two months, as part of a total of $4.1 million being awarded this year to 61 non-profit groups spread across New York City.
First awarded in 2005, the security funds are allocated based on applications submitted to the Nonprofit Security Grant Program, a branch of the Department of Homeland Security. In their proposals for funding, organizations must detail how they will use the grants, as well as the security threats they face. Bnot Yisroel administrator Rabbi Boruch L. Barnetsky said he applied for a grant on three previous occasions, but that only his organization’s most recent request had been successful. The school, which cited crime statistics provided by local police in its application, will spend its grant on surveillance cameras and more outside lighting.
Since the creation of the grants four years ago, more than 200 New York City non-profits have collected grants totaling more than $17 million, Weiner said.
Recipients may use the one-time grants for staff training, but the funds cannot be used to hire security guards or other personnel and the grant winners must cover at least part of their safety expenses, with grant rules requiring they match 25% of the funding they receive.
Brooklyn organizations awarded security grants this year include the Jewish Children’s Museum in Crown Heights and the United Lubavitcher Yeshiva of Midwood. Many of the borough’s grant winners opted not to have their names publicly released, citing security concerns.
In the aftermath of May’s thwarted Bronx bombings, in which four local men allegedly conspired to plant explosives at the Riverdale Temple and the Riverdale Jewish Center, the added security funds appeared to offer peace of mind to Brooklyn’s Jewish community leaders.
“We have to be proactive about protecting ourselves,” said Rabbi Barnetsky. “Because of this program, we will be that much safer.”
