PoliceLink

On the same day the federal government declined to give the city money to put more police on the street, Senator Charles Schumer says he's lining up some funding that would partially make up for it.

Schumer's office says he's been working with the NYPD and Department of Homeland Security to try to find a way to offset the loss of funding.

The new money comes from the Transit Security Grant program. It would put more than 100 additional police officers on city subways and buses.

Local officials were outraged when the federal government denied the city its share of the funds from the Community Oriented Policing Services, otherwise known as the COPS program.

Federal officials say the city has already received millions of dollars and more funding wasn't necessary because of its relatively low crime rate.

In a statement released Monday, Police Commissioner Kelly said, "There should be substantial and continuing federal support for the NYPD. We shouldn't be penalized for succeeding on both counts, and mainly on our own dime, over the last seven-and-a-half years."

Bloomberg added, "To punish our police department because they have driven down crime with fewer resources shows the backwards incentive system that is sometimes at work in Washington."

New Yorkers had mixed opinions about the decision.

"The areas I've lived in, we've had the highest crime rates, so they definitely need more cops out there," said one New Yorker.

"We are a target for everything that could happen," said another. "We are a big city. There are a lot of people here, people from everywhere. We really need it."

"This is where the money's made and this is where the tax revenue is, so we can deal with it better than some other places if there isn't as much money to go around," countered a third.

Since 1995, the city has received $606 million in federal COPS funding, which has allowed for the hiring of 4,780 officers since 1996 and 1,820 civilian jobs since 1995.