By MARK JOHNSON
Associated Press Writer
ALBANY, New York- New York state has improved security since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks in its largest city, but it remains vulnerable to terrorist attack or natural disaster, according to a state Senate report released Monday.
Of particular concern are uneven security measures at the Port of New York and the lack of an emergency response plan to a hurricane striking New York City or Long Island to its east, said Sen. Michael Balboni, the author of the report.
“Our findings show that a storm cloud is brewing over New York state, exposing major vulnerabilities in our homeland security and emergency response systems,” Balboni said in the report. “While New York has made tremendous strides in protecting our citizens since Sept. 11, 2001, major weakness still exist.”
While noting the state’s actions on several fronts to improve security, the report concluded that much needs to be done to make the state more secure.
A public hearing in March found no uniform system exists for verifying identities of those entering U.S. port facilities and the percentage of cargo being checked remains low, even as a vehicle-and cargo-inspection system using gamma ray imaging to check parcels has been set up at major ports around the country. New York is the third busiest U.S. port, taking in more than 6,000 containers a day.
Officials fear one of those containers could hold a “dirty bomb” that could contaminate the New York area with radiation, or house a deadly biological agent to be unleashed in the densely populated area.
“We agree that port security is an area that needs to be addressed immediately,” said Steve Coleman, a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
One of the major shortcomings, he noted, was a lack of federal funding. Since Sept. 11, 2001, the authority has received less than $10 million in federal security money while spending more than $60 million of its own funds, he said.
The Port Authority wants new container technology put in place that can alert shippers if a container has been breached on its way to a destination, helping prevent an attack well in advance.
A separate public hearing in September found that Long Island’s Nassau and Suffolk counties, home to more than 2.7 million people, still lack coordinated and effective plans for communication, evacuation and sheltering in the event of a hurricane or other natural disaster. Meteorologists testified Long Island could face a Category 3 storm in the next few years, just as it did in 1938. A Category 3 hurricane today would cause up to $25 billion in damage.
Assemblyman Richard Brodsky in a September study found New York City was ill-prepared to handle a weather-related emergency. He said there are problems with the city’s evacuation plans with at least 75 percent of the residents unaware of evacuation zones.
“The first thing we need to do is make people aware how unprepared local governments really are,” Brodsky said. “If a hurricane hit New York City they couldn’t handle it.”