On September 17, 2016, the NYC Veterans Alliance joined VEThack, GORuck, and many other organizations as a partner in this annual event that unites our community in focusing attention on ending veteran suicide.

View our collection of member photos from this memorable day:

Tomorrow’s election will decide the overall winners of the many New York State Senate and Assembly seats that are on the ballot this year, given that in many districts vote overwhelmingly for one party over another. While this may not be ideal—please go vote if your party has a primary ballot in your district!

Today we were proud to stand with Public Advocate Tish James, Council Member Jumaane Williams, Commissioner Loree Sutton, and Commissioner Carmelyn Malalis to mark the introduction of the bill we drafted and proposed last spring to amend NYC's human rights laws to include protections for veterans and military members. The bill's language has been updated to summarize this as "uniformed service," and express the most inclusive definition possible. We approved this change within the last few weeks, and we are proud to be part of moving this legislation forward. Below is the statement of Founding Director Kristen Rouse at today's press conference at City Hall:

On August 2, 2016, the NYC Veterans Alliance teamed up with Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America and NYC Votes to register new voters and inform voters on veterans issues. View our photos of this inspiring day:

PROBLEM: New York State appears to offer a reduction in assessed property value for veteran homeowners, with rates between 15% and 25% based on wartime and combat service eligibility criteria. In New York City’s five boroughs, this results in eligible veteran homeowners being told they “only have to pay school tax.” Yet those tax rates have ballooned by more than 60% since 2003; the current school tax rate (which veterans must pay) is 11.5%. A 2013 NYS law, however, gives school districts the option of adopting the tax exemption for veterans, which NYC’s school district has not yet explored. Additionally, differences between property tax exemptions offered by NYS and NYC for veterans are confusing and difficult to understand.

PROPOSAL: The NYC Veterans Alliance proposes a working group to clarify existing NYS and NYC veterans property tax exemption policy and its impacts on qualifying NYC veteran homeowners and propose next steps to NYC and NYS officials to implement policies that achieve true tax relief for qualifying NYC veterans as intended by law.

From our first policy agenda meeting last September to our Policy Design Workshop in December, follow-on group "Draft" workshops in January, and community responses to our 2016 surveys--it has been clear that veterans, military members, and their families are facing a wide range of challenges that can and must be addressed at the local level. But foundational to all of these issues is one key absence: veterans and military members are not included as protected categories of persons in NYC's human rights law.

BREAKING!! Governor Cuomo has at last signed the Veterans Equality Act into law, rectifying NY State's pension system for veterans who have honorably served our nation in recent decades and across the globe. This comes after two vetoes and his office's lobbying against it. Our voices were heard, and we're proud to have been key players in this year's drive toward passing this legislation!

The NYC Veterans Alliance is proud to announce our partnership with VoteRunLead to urge veterans and their spouses to get ready to run for elected office. Women in particular often need an extra push to view themselves as qualified, capable candidates, so we are truly thrilled to open up VRL’s daylong Dare to Lead women’s leadership conference to women who have served in any branch of the military, as well as women who are spouses (or widows) of a military member or veteran.

On April 21, the NYC Veterans Alliance presented testimony before the NYC Council Committee on Veterans on proposed Resolution 579-A calling on Congress to pass and the President to sign the Toxic Exposure Research Act of 2015. We were the only organization other than the Vietnam Veterans of America to present testimony at this hearing, and the testimony itself was followed by an informative, in-depth discussion of the toxic exposures of Vietnam, Desert Storm, and OEF/OIF veterans.

Today the Executive Director of the VA’s NY Harbor Healthcare System, Martina Parauda, spoke at the Veterans Forum held at the VA’s Healthcare Center at 25 Chapel Street, Brooklyn. Several months ago, NYHHS announced that they would be potentially closing the Healthcare Facility at 25 Chapel Street; today Ms. Parauda announced that they had received approval from the VA higher-ups in Washington, DC, to proceed with a plan to close this facility as  of June 30, 2016.