Southern Brooklyn Congressmember Nicole Malliotakis announced she has secured $2.9 million for the New York City Police Department from the federal government operational budget for 2022— which will be used to purchase new equipment and expand their K-9 unit.
“Upon taking office, the NYPD informed me they needed this equipment and K-9 funding and I’m happy I was able to secure it for them,” Malliotakis said in a statement. “I will continue working to give our police the tools they need to more effectively do their jobs, keep criminals off our streets, and protect residents and visitors to our city”
Malliotakis said the funding for the city police force comes at a time when here fellow elected officials are trying to strip the police of their resources — when instead, she argues, they need heightened support as they continue to face rising crime.
“At a time when other elected officials are looking to strip resources from our police, I’m proud to have delivered on my promise to secure more funding for our NYPD,” Malliotakis said. “With skyrocketing crime plaguing our streets and subways, the time is now for elected officials to support our men and women in blue, not continue to tie their hands and strip them of critical resources.”
The announcement came the same day that Mayor Eric Adams presented his executive budget for the upcoming fiscal year, which included $182 million for the NYPD and $55 million for a program that would send social workers, rather than police officers, to respond to certain incidents.
NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell said in a statement that the funding comes from the US Department of Justice’s Edward Byrne Memorial Fund— named after an NYPD officer who was killed in the line of duty while protecting a witness in 1988 — which focuses on supporting personnel, training and equipment for police departments across the country.
“Keeping New Yorkers and visitors to our great city safe requires well-trained and well-equipped police officers,” Sewell said. “This critical funding comes from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant, named in honor of an NYPD police officer assassinated in 1988 while protecting a witness in a drug case. It supports personnel, training, and necessary equipment for police departments nationwide, and remains integral to the NYPD’s mission of relentlessly fighting crime and terrorism.”
Of the $2.9 million, the largest chunk will go towards purchasing new forensic equipment at $2 million; $550,000 will go towards buying more personal protective equipment; and $350,000 will go to expanding its Critical Response Command K-9 Training and Equipment.
Citywide, crime is up year-to-date in nearly all major categories (including rape, robbery and felony assault), according to the latest NYPD data. However, murder is down more than 13 percent across the five boroughs as of April 24. In NYPD’s Brooklyn South patrol, which encompasses precincts such as the 60th, 62nd and 68th — some of which are in Malliotakis’ district — crime is also up across the board.
