Last week Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano was in New York with Mayor Michael Bloomberg. He said to her: “The federal government must take New York City seriously, and give us the resources we need to protect what clearly is the terrorists’ number one target.”
The Obama administration’s plan to ship the elite Coast Guard unit that’s been patrolling New York harbor since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, off to Boston has angered Sen. Chuck Schumer. He vowed yesterday to fight the consolidation of New York’s 90-member team, calling it “penny wise and pound foolish.”
The team responds, for instance, when there is a reported threat to the Brooklyn Bridge or Statue of Liberty or a natural disaster, Schumer explained.
“Taking the teams away from New York City would leave us more vulnerable during the most sensitive times,” Schumer said in a statement.
The plan creates a “regional structure that positions teams to efficiently and effectively respond to maritime threats,” a Coast Guard spokesman said.