by Elana Duffy

Last month we commemorated the 100th anniversary of Veterans Day here in New York City with the largest Veterans Day parade in the US, thanks to combined efforts of the United War Veterans Council, city support, and hundreds of volunteers with months of planning. On this centennial, tens of thousands of Veterans and supporters from around the US and around the world marched up a mile stretch of the iconic NYC 5th Avenue in force. Since exiting the Army, I worked on the logistics and planning side of this annually monstrous event, only skipping volunteering this year as I recovered from a significant surgery following complications from my combat injury--after many years of chronic complications, my leg was amputated, and I now have a prosthetic leg. This year, for the first time, I watched the NYC Veterans Day Parade from the VIP grandstand.

We're well on our way to passage! H.R. 1925 is a bipartisan bill proposing to name the Manhattan VA Hospital in honor of Revolutionary War hero Margaret Corbin, who was the first woman paid and pensioned by the United States military for her service and wounds in combat. New Yorkers need the full support of our state’s Congressional delegation to name the Manhattan VA hospital in honor of Revolutionary War hero Margaret Corbin. This legislation will:

• Designate the first VA hospital campus named in honor of a woman veteran
• Honor the nation’s first woman veteran recognized and pensioned by the U.S. military for her wounds in combat in 1776
• Commemorate Manhattan’s Battle of Fort Washington, where Margaret Corbin made the Continental Army’s final stand before falling to near-fatal wounds
• Signal the VA’s recognition of women’s service and sacrifice as members of the U.S. Armed forces since 1776
• Increase VA access for women veterans, a rapidly growing yet underserved population, by recognizing and welcoming them

Affordable housing is a top priority for our NYC veterans community, and we get frequent questions from veterans who need help with navigating NYC’s rental market. Below is information intended to inform our community and assist them with improving their situation; this list is not exhaustive.

Note: Thanks for making this one of our top-visited webpages! We've updated resources listed here as of November 2019.