Churches Urged to Apply for Federal Anti-Terror Funds as Hate Crimes Rise
February 17, 2021
Retired Auxiliary Bishop Octavio Cisneros shows how thieves broke into the rectory at Holy Child Jesus Church in 2019. (Photo: Jorge I. Dominguez-Lopez)
WINDSOR TERRACE — “Religion is a basic American value. But it is under attack. There is a rise in hate crimes,” Congresswoman Grace Meng told religious leaders at a grant workshop she hosted on Feb. 10.
Churches are eligible to receive U.S. government funds to beef up security measures under an anti-terror grant program run by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Meng, whose district includes Bayside, Flushing, Forest Hills, Maspeth, Glendale, and Middle Village, encouraged religious institutions and nonprofits to apply.