In an overnight veto on October 26, Gov. Andrew Cuomo once again squashed a bill that was passed unanimously in the NY State Senate and had only one dissenting vote in the Assembly. As a result:

Yesterday was the 51st Annual Queens County Council Legislative Breakfast hosted by the Queens County Council of the VFW. Ryan Graham, Commander of the Queens County Council, coordinated the event and made sure veterans citywide were invited to attend. Special thanks to Ryan for inviting NYC Veterans Alliance leaders and members.

Today Governor Cuomo received the Veterans Equality Act from the NY State Senate, giving him ten days to either sign or veto it. Please call Governor Cuomo's office at 518-474-8390 (select option 3) to urge him to sign it into law. We sent him the following letter:

On Friday, October 2, Samuel Innocent testified before the NYC Council Committee on Parks and Recreation in favor of Introduction 856, which would make NYC parks more affordable to veterans by discounting recreational facility fees:

On September 21, 2015, the NYC Veterans Alliance held its First Policy Agenda Meeting at Civic Hall. Thanks to volunteer Meaghan S., we have a transcript of what was discussed at the meeting.

On Monday, September 21, the Manhattan VA Medical Center held its annual Community Mental Health Summit, where VA administrators sought to improve understanding and communication between the VA and service providers and veterans within the community. The event was held in Atrium A (the main conference center), and was well-attended by a large audience made up mostly of service providers from non-VA programs and nonprofits in the area. The program as a whole was informative and interactive, but left us with many questions about how much community input would go toward actual changes at the Manhattan VAMC, or whether there will be follow-up with community members about what was discussed.

On Friday, September 18, the NYC Veterans Alliance testified in favor of Introduction 793, a bill proposed by the City Council Committee on Veterans that would create a task force to study and report on veterans in the NYC criminal justice system.

The New York Post has recently blasted Mayor de Blasio on his handling of the spike in homelessness in NYC, and on Monday de Blasio's top aide on health and human services stepped down--the highest ranking resignation in thus far in the de Blasio administration. The Post has also accused de Blasio of shortchanging programs aimed at bringing veteran homelessness to zero before the end of this year. What's really going on?

Thanks to everyone who came to our first event, the Forum on NYC Veterans Policy. Your attendance, support, and participation made it a tremendous success. If you couldn't make it, be sure to view the photos and audio clips below to share in this informative, insightful, and community-building event. We hope to see you next time.

There are many issues we've brought up and discussed about NYC veterans, but it's always a great day when we can celebrate a win, connect with City officials, and also visit with great organizations and veterans who are active with our community.

Our report last month, Change is Essential, showed that veteran designation on IDNYC cards is important to our community, and we recommended that the IDNYC define veterans according to the inclusive definition of the City Charter. Although veteran designation on IDNYC cards has been in the works for some months, our survey and recommendation helped to push this program to its final implementation as a high-quality, inclusive program for NYC's veterans.