The NY Post reports:

Budget cuts have forced the NYPD to curtail its vaunted programs that flood the subways and high-profile probable terror targets with extra cops, sources told The Post.

A freeze on overtime means there are fewer officers available for counterterrorism duties that range from bag searches at subway turnstiles to extra patrols around landmarks like the Brooklyn Bridge and Grand Central Terminal, sources said.

“It’s obviously a budget issue,” a Patrol Bureau source said.

The 7-year-old Operation Atlas program — which convicted terrorist Iyman Faris said convinced him to abandon plans to attack the Brooklyn Bridge when he saw the massive security — took a serious blow, according to sources.

Since the program started in 2003, the NYPD assigned 72 officers per shift each day to Atlas duties, with eight teams of eight patrol officers and one sergeant.

They randomly appeared at landmarks around the city in a bid to scare off terrorists, but have also been assigned to police high-crime areas such as public housing projects.

The overtime cost the NYPD $5 million a year.

Details of the cutbacks surfaced as Europe remained on high alert for possible terror attacks at major tourist hot spots and airports.

Have you checked out YWN Radio yet? Click HERE to listen!

(Read More: NY Post)