State Senator Michael Balboni (R-East Williston) announced that Nassau County will receive $3.8 million from the federal government this year to help better prepare for, respond to and recover from acts of terrorism. The dollars come from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security as part of an overall terrorism-fighting grant to New York State.

Balboni, who chairs the Senate committee that oversees homeland security issues, praised the federal government for diverting more homeland security dollars to New York.

"New York City and the areas surrounding it continue to be at risk for terrorist attack," Balboni said. "The new dollars will definitely boost community resources to prevent, prepare for and respond to terrorism and other disasters."

Nassau County's grants fall into three categories: the Urban Area Security Initiative ($2 million), the State Homeland Security Program ($1.25 million), and the Law Enforcement Terrorism Prevention Program ($600,000). The programs provide additional dollars to police, firefighters and emergency workers for training, equipment and other tools to help them investigate, plan for and respond to terrorist activities.

Shortly after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Balboni began urging the federal government to allocate anti-terrorism dollars based on threat, with areas at higher risk of being terrorist targets slated to get more funding. He also served on a federal task force that examined how money travels from Washington to local communities and recommended ways to speed up the process.

"The fact that we received as much funding as we did shows that Washington is listening to us and taking us seriously," Balboni said.