Schumer, Cuomo blast plan to remove bomb-sniffing dogs from NYC airports, trains, Barclays Center

Schumer: Safety Will 'Go To the Dogs’

April 16, 2018 By Mary Frost Brooklyn Daily Eagle

NYPD bomb-sniffing dog Ray, a four-year-old Labrador Retriever, smells a journalists bags during a security demonstration at a past New York City Marathon. AP file photo/Richard Drew

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Bomb-sniffing dogs have become a familiar sight at New York City’s airports, train stations, ferries, sites like Barclays Center and at events like the Thanksgiving Day Parade and the NYC Marathon.

Now, U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer and Gov. Andrew Cuomo are sounding the alarm as a new plan from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) propose to axe the canine teams.

Schumer demanded in a release on Sunday that TSA “immediately reverse course and keep highly trained canine teams right where they are” in NYC.

“Without critical canine security teams backed by feds, safety at local train stations, airports and large-scale events in New York City will simply go to the dogs,” Schumer said. “We are talking about preserving the most basic charge of the TSA: to keep America safe.” With Schumer’s backing last year, TSA actually increased the number of canine teams at city airports.

Cuomo added his criticism of the plan on Monday, saying, “The Trump Administration’s proposal to cut funding for programs that secure New York’s most obvious targets is unacceptable … New York will always be a unique target, both as the economic and cultural center of the nation and because we stand for the values of freedom and democracy.”

The canine teams, which include a highly trained detection dog and a handler, are called Visible Intermodal Prevent and Response (VIPR) teams. VIPR teams may approach people and ask questions, examine bags, search vehicles and patrol sites to detect suspicious activity.

At a House Homeland Security Transportation Subcommittee hearing this past week, TSA chief David Pekoske said he wanted to eliminate the agency’s use of canine VIPR teams and turn the responsibility — and costs — over to state and local governments.

Cuomo urged Congress to reject the budget proposal, adding, however, that the state “will continue to support canine teams and fill in gaps in federal spending where necessary.”

NYC a Target for Extremists

New York City has long been a prime target of terrorist organizations like Islamic State (ISIS).

In April, ISIS issued a propaganda poster warning of a threatened bombing on New York City’s subway system. The poster pictured a terrorist standing at High Street Station in Brooklyn Heights, the Daily Mail reported.

In December, a would-be suicide bomber set off a homemade explosive device at the Port Authority Bus Terminal subway station. Following the attack, which injured several passers-by but killed no one, NYPD detectives armed with bomb-sniffing dogs patrolled the station and descended on the bomber’s home.

In 2015, three men were arrested in Brooklyn for plotting to aid the Islamic State and launch attacks in the U.S. Also in 2015, two women arrested and tried in Brooklyn for plotting to build a homemade bomb and wage jihad in NYC.

While this recent budget cut criticism comes from the state’s top Democrats, the push to maintain security at the city’s transit hubs is bipartisan.

Last year, Republican Reps. Dan Donovan and Peter King urged the continued funding of the Urban Areas Security Initiative, one of the many grant programs the House of Representatives considered chopping. The program pays for initiatives like the NYPD’s Domain Awareness System, which analyzes data including cameras and license-plate readers, to track real-time threats. The initiative also pays for bomb-sniffing dogs and active shooter training.

According to Schumer, it’s not the first time the Trump administration has tried to cut the program that protects President Trump’s home city. Previously, Trump proposed in his budget to cut the VIPR program by $43 million, eliminating 23 dog teams. But Congress blocked those cuts in the omnibus bill negotiated by Schumer, providing $58 million for the program, which pays for 31 teams nationwide.