Commuters may disagree on sports teams, political candidates and any number of other topics, but they are united in their disapproval of the federal government's announced cuts to New York City's homeland security. The numbers are jarring: a 27 percent reduction for transit security -- from $153 million last year to $111 million; a 25 percent chop in port security -- from last year's $45 million to $33.8 million.
"Cutting back on funding to fight terrorism in New York is just sending an invitation out to the terrorist community," said Bill DeFazio, an IT specialist at Global Financial Securities and a Fairfield resident since 1979. "We all know that New York is the No. 1 target on the terrorist hit list as proven so many times in the past even prior to 9/11 ... just recently with the potential bombing in Times Square. We were lucky."
Jean Kelly, who formerly rode Metro-North to Manhattan on a daily basis but now makes the trek a couple of times a month, had similar thoughts. "I think now we really need to keep our guard up," she stated. "They're (terrorists) not just coming here; they're already here. I've seen the difference in security or the lack of security since 9/11."
"It's very upsetting, with the recent attempted attack in Times Square," said Wendy Champeix, a Fairfielder who commutes daily to Stamford and makes occasional trips into New York. "It's disconcerting for a great city like Manhattan."
"I know for me every time I arrive at Grand Central Station at 9 a.m. I think about how easy it would be for one or more suicide bombers to explode their weapons in the midst of thousands of commuters and tourists," DeFazio said. "Where are the dogs used to sniff the chemical warfare that can be easily planted in the trains and in the surrounding buildings? New York is an open target. It's just sad to even think our politicians would even consider such a ridiculous cutback."
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