Press Release 7/14/20

PERTH AMBOY, NJ – Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06) today announced that Perth Amboy will receive more than $1 million in grant funding to strengthen emergency response and keep New Jerseyans safe. A $900,000 grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Port Security Grant Program will replace the fire department’s Marine 5, a 15-year-old dive boat used for the southern part of the Port of New Jersey and New York. Another grant of $45,000 will help maintain the city’s police boats, Marine 2, Marine 3, Marine 6, and Marine 7. Perth Amboy also received over $75,000 from the Department of Homeland Security’s Assistance to Firefighters Grant – COVID-19 Supplemental Program (AFG-S) through the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

“This funding will better equip our first responders to handle emergency situations that regularly occur along the port, including fire and rescue protection services. The replacement vessel for Marine 5 is necessary for critical search and rescue missions in the region,” said Congressman Pallone. “As the coronavirus pandemic threatens our state and local budgets, it is critical that we continue to fully fund our public services. Supplemental funding provided by the CARES Act along with FEMA grant funding will go a long way to help the Perth Amboy Fire Department protect the community.”

In March, Pallone sent a letter to FEMA in support of this critical grant funding. The new Marine 5 will have greater capacity to fight fires, pumping more than 8,750 gallons per minute of water to protect Perth Amboy’s waterfront. The Perth Amboy Fire Department routinely utilizes the vessel in coordination with the United States Coast Guard and the New Jersey Regional Fire Boat Task Force.

The fire department will use the supplemental AFG funding to purchase personal protective equipment and related supplies to protect our first responders during the COVID-19 pandemic. Pallone helped include $100 million in supplemental funds for the AFG-S program in the CARES Act, a $2 trillion economic stimulus bill passed by Congress and signed into law in March.