IT’S FEMA INSANITY
‘Dirty’ feds slicing funds needed to clean subways & fight COVID
Transit systems, schools and other public facilities in New York could soon become a whole lot dirtier because of a policy change enacted by the Trump administration that’ll strip millions of dollars in critical coronavirus aid for the state, the Daily News has learned.
It’s a gut punch no one saw coming, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (DN.Y.) railed Thursday.
Since the outset of the pandemic, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has helped New York and other states cover the costs of coronavirus-fighting efforts — from disinfecting schools and government buildings to stocking up on personal protective equipment for public employees.
But FEMA sneaked in a rules change this week to say “the operation of schools and other public facilities” are no longer considered “emergency protective measures eligible for reimbursement,” declaring, “These are not immediate actions necessary to protect public health and safety.”
“An absurd change like this one — that actually takes money away from New York that’s now being used to clean the subways or prepare schools for classes — is a slap in the face to frontline workers and kids,” Schumer told The News. “This is a downright dirty plan just when we need to keep sanitizing and PPE a federal priority.”
According to Schumer, the new rule means city and state governments will no longer be able to receive FEMA reimbursements for sanitizing buses, subway cars, schools and courthouses, among other public spaces.
And cash-strapped city and state governments also won’t be able to use FEMA funds to buy temperature scanners or PPE for nonmedical professionals like MTA workers and teachers, Schumer added.
Gov. Cuomo lashed out at the move, saying, “The president is telling essential workers that he does not value their safety or their sacrifices over the last six months.”
“Make no mistake, this is just another attempt by President Trump to hurt New York. We won’t be bullied,” the governor declared.
But the under-the-radar change won’t just hurt New York; it’ll hamper transit agencies and schools that rely on FEMA funds in other states, too.
MTA Chairman Patrick Foye, whose agency is already facing a $12 billion deficit because of the pandemic, said the message from FEMA’s rule reform is clear: “Washington to MTA customers and
employees: Drop Dead.”
“With this action, the federal government seems intent on starving the economic lifeblood of not just New York, but the nation,” Foye said.
A FEMA spokesman declined to explain what prompted the policy change, saying only the agency is no longer “authorized to support the day to day operations and operational expenses of facilities.” The spokesman added that hospitals, “emergency operations centers” for COVID-19 and some other public facilities remain eligible for reimbursements under the new rule.
The FEMA funding shakeup comes on the heels of President Trump’s threat to withhold federal cash from what he described as “anarchist jurisdictions.”
A Trump memo — most likely headed straight for court — specifically names New York as one of the cities the president wants to punish in retaliation for local leaders refusing to let his administration send in federal law enforcement to crack down on racial justice protests.
A White House spokesman did not respond to emailed questions about whether the FEMA rule shift was part of Trump’s effort to defund New York and other Democrat-run cities.
New York has already gotten more than $1.3 billion in coronavirus aid from FEMA.
But Schumer said New York will need a whole lot more to maintain sanitation efforts and replenish PPE stockpiles, especially ahead of a new school year and fall season that could trigger a coronavirus resurgence.
FEMA Administrator Pete Gaynor — handpicked by Trump last year — gave “no clear answers” for enacting the new policy during a phone call with Schumer on Thursday afternoon, according to Angelo Roefaro, a spokesman for the senator.
Mayor de Blasio was expected to grill Gaynor over the policy shift in a phone call Friday, according to a source.