The Port of Houston is getting more than five times as much money in federal seaport security grants than the Port of New York and New Jersey in the latest round of Homeland Security funding, and a report released last week says local assessors could be to blame.
A review of the Port Security Grant Program released by the Department of Homeland Security’s Inspector General’s Office said “subjectivity remains inherent” in the process of evaluating grant proposals to decide which projects should receive funding.
And it appears some local container ports are being shortchanged in the process. The Howland Hook Marine Terminal on Staten Island, for one, has received no individual Homeland Security funding.
“We’re putting up cameras on our own nickel right now,” said terminal president James Devine. “That costs $300,000 to $400,000 . . . We could certainly all use more money.”
The new Homeland Security port-security report examined the fifth and latest round of post-9/11 security grants, which left it to local port “captains” to assess proposals based on four criteria. Those were cost effectiveness; consistency with area maritime security plans; applicability to local security priorities; and whether the proposal reduces the risk of underwater attacks, small-craft attacks or vehicle-borne attacks.
Each project was given a score of 0 to 35, with projects meeting the criteria receiving higher marks.
According to the report, “disparities existed” from state to state. While New York’s 61 grant proposals received scores of between 3 and 17, Houston – a port assessed by Homeland Security as being at the same risk level – assessed its projects at scores between 9 and 30. Funds were allocated based on these scores, with the Port of New York receiving approximately $6.6 million and the Port of Houston receiving approximately $35 million last year.
New York’s port is about three times busier than Houston’s, with more than 4 million containers handled per year, compared to 1.6 million.
The new report says the system for evaluating the proposals may have been seriously flawed. “This disparity in project scores for like-port areas [in terms of risk] raises concerns about the basis for field review scores and how reviewers are judging projects against criteria,” the report says.
Although the local scores were evaluated by a national panel, Homeland Security spokesman Marc Short said the department “relied heavily” on the local assessments when awarding grants, and said “it’s possible” the Port of New York’s lower scores cost it money.
Coast Guard Capt. Glenn Wiltshire, captain of the Port of New York, said he assessed all projects fairly and accurately. “I’m confident that within the list of projects that were put forward in New York that the relative ranking reflected the criteria that were in Round 5’s grant,” he said.
Thomas Da Maria, executive director of the Waterfront Commission, an agency that oversees docks in New York and New Jersey, said the local ports have been “shortchanged from the beginning, point blank.”
angela.montefinise@nypost.com
Load of nonsense
Latest Homeland Security grants once again stiffs New York:
Port of New York and New Jersey (left)
* 4 million containers handled per year
* Got $6.6 million in security money
Port of Houston
* 1.6 million containers handled per year
* $35 million in security money