Washington, D.C. ? Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, seeking to avert a repeat of last year’s furor about counterterrorism grants to U.S. cities, announced Friday that New York, Washington and four other “highest-risk” metro areas will receive $411 million to subsidize their efforts to guard against terrorist attacks.

Thirty-nine other metro areas will compete for another $336 million this year. In all, the funding for the 45 cities is a $36 million increase from 2006. The 50 states will get $919 million in federal grants, $41 million less than they received last year.

Last year, Chertoff’s agency faced vocal protests after it cut funding by 40 percent to the two cities considered al-Qaida’s top targets: New York lost $80 million and Washington lost $31 million after Congress slashed the Department of Homeland Security’s grant money by $700 million.

The same six metro areas as last year were in the top tier. In addition to New York and Washington, they’re San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago and Houston.