NEW YORK _ Transit systems, schools and other public spaces in New York could soon become a whole lot dirtier because of a policy change enacted by the Trump administration that will strip the state of millions of dollars in critical coronavirus aid, the New York Daily News has learned.
Since the outset of the pandemic, the Federal Emergency Management Administration has helped New York and other states cover the costs of coronavirus-related expenses such as deep cleaning government buildings and stocking up on personal protective equipment for public employees.
However, FEMA quietly updated its rules this week to say that "the operation of schools and other public facilities" are no longer considered "emergency protective measures eligible for reimbursement."
"These are not immediate actions necessary to protect public health and safety," states the new policy, which takes effect Sept. 15.
According to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., this means that city and state governments will no longer be able to receive FEMA reimbursements for sanitizing buses, subway cars, schools and courthouses, among other public spaces.
City and state governments also won't be able to use FEMA cash to purchase temperature scanners or PPE for nonmedical professionals such as Metropolitan Transportation Authority workers and teachers, Schumer said.
"An absurd change like this one _ that actually takes money away from New York that's now being used to clean the subways or prepare schools for classes _ is a slap in the face to frontline workers and kids," Schumer told the Daily News. "This is a downright dirty plan just when we need to keep sanitizing and PPE a federal priority."
The policy change will likely have the same impact on other states.
FEMA did not immediately return a request for comment.
The FEMA rule shake-up comes as President Donald Trump is threatening to withhold federal cash from what he in a Wednesday memo called "anarchist jurisdictions."
The Trump memo, which is all but certain to draw legal challenges, specifically names New York as one of the cities that the president wants to pull funds from in retaliation for local leaders refusing to let his administration send in federal law enforcement to crack down on racial justice protests.
A White House spokesman did not respond to emailed questions about whether the FEMA rule shift was part of Trump's effort to defund New York and other Democrat-run cities.
New York has already received more than $1.3 billion in coronavirus aid from FEMA.
But Schumer said the state will need much more federal aid to sanitize public spaces and stock up on PPE, especially since the new school year's around the corner and experts fear that fall could bring a coronavirus resurgence.
FEMA Administrator Pete Gaynor, who was handpicked to his post by Trump last year, provided "no clear answers" for enacting the new policy during a phone call with Schumer on Thursday afternoon, according to Angelo Roefaro, a spokesman for the senator.
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio was expected to grill Gaynor over the policy shift in a phone call Friday, according to a source.
