Yesterday we joined NYC Comptroller Scott Stringer for his announcement of a new partnership with RBC GAM Access Capital to create a first-of-its-kind program to support affordable housing for veterans in New York City. Each year at least $5 million will finance mortgages guaranteed by the Department of Veterans Affairs to veterans and their families living in New York City. This is an encouraging move by NYC government, and one that we hope will increase the ability of veterans to access and use the VA Home Loan they've earned here in the city they call home. 

View NY1's coverage of the press event by clicking HERE.

Corey Ortega, Director of Civic Leadership, gave the following remarks alongside Comptroller Stringer: 

Good afternoon, my name is Corey Ortega, and I’m the Director of Civic Leadership for the NYC Veterans Alliance. The NYC Veterans Alliance is a member-supported, grassroots policy advocacy and empowerment organization serving veterans, service members, and their families across the New York City metropolitan area. Affordable housing is a top priority for our members, and ensuring the VA Home Loan is accessible is a key component of that. The VA Home Loan is a benefit promised to our service members, but it is currently seen as functionally unusable by many veterans in this city. Our community has made it clear to us that needs to change.

We applaud the Comptroller’s Veterans Home Loans Initiative for the New York City Retirement System, particularly the commitment to improve awareness and access to the VA Home Loan program to qualified veterans in this city. We hope this is a step toward renewing our city’s history of investing in our veterans and military families.