(The Center Square) — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul touted $100 million in public safety funding Monday during a visit to Nassau County, a GOP stronghold where a recent poll showed the Democrat narrowing a gap with Republican challenger and County Executive Bruce Blakeman.
Hochul announced that the state is making at least $75 million in grants available for New York police departments and sheriffs’ offices to improve technology and modernize equipment through the state’s Law Enforcement Tech Grant program, which received a fresh infusion of funds in the recently signed Fiscal Year 2027 state budget.
Another $25 million will fund a new, statewide records management system, replacing a decades-old platform to improve information sharing and streamline reporting, the governor said.
The spending will “help agencies modernize equipment, strengthen public safety, and improve information sharing capabilities to enhance the work they do to protect the communities they serve, while continuing our comprehensive approach to reducing crime across the state,” Hochul said.
“Keeping New Yorkers safe means ensuring the men and women who protect our communities have the tools and technology they need to meet today’s public safety challenges,” the Democrat said in a statement.
At least 500 police agencies outside of New York City — including village, town, city, and tribal police departments and county sheriffs’ offices — are eligible to apply for the LETECH grants for upgrades such as gunshot detection systems, drones, 3-D crime scene laser scanners, trauma kits and automated external defibrillators, body-worn cameras and vests, officials said.
The awards are based on the number of full-time officers, ranging from $100,000 for 10 or fewer officers to $6 million, for more than 1,001 officers, according to the Hochul administration.
The new records management system, which Hochul said was requested by local police chiefs, county sheriffs’ and district attorneys, will be available to law enforcement agencies statewide, including more than 150 smaller and rural departments that have lacked the resources to modernize.
But Thursday’s announcement, listed as an official event on the governor’s schedule, comes days after the latest poll in New York’s gubernatorial race showed Hochul closing a gap against Blakeman in a region of Long Island where Democrats traditionally don’t do well in elections.
The Siena College survey found Blakeman only leading Hochul by five points in Nassau County in a general election matchup, suggesting it could be a competitive region in the November election.
Overall, Hochul’s lead over Blakeman in the downstate suburbs has grown to 11 points (49% to 38%), up from a 4-point lead in April, according to the Siena poll. In the statewide matchup, Hochul leads Blakeman by 20 points, holding a 52% to 32% advantage, pollsters said.
Blakeman has also been hammering away at Hochul over the issue of public safety in blistering campaign ads and social media posts where claims her administration is soft on crime.
In announcing the new round of grant funding, Hochul’s office included a quote from Nassau County Municipal Police Chiefs Association President Brian Paladino, who praised the Democratic governor for making an “investment in fighting crime.”
“These funds allow police departments to acquire equipment that is necessary to keep up with the tech demands of modern crime fighting, without punching tremendous holes in a department’s budget or avoid having a municipality having to bond out their future just to keep up with basic needs to provide basic public safety needs,” Paladino said in the statement.
