On April 20, 2021, NYC Veterans Alliance provided written testimony for the NYC Council Committees on Aging and Veterans hearing on Introduction 1616-2019, which would require the NYC Department of Veterans' Services (DVS) to report the number of senior veterans DVS serves, as well the number of inquiries received by DVS from veterans regarding social service programs, such as the supplemental nutrition assistance program and the New York State veteran property tax exemption; and affordable housing programs, such as those run through the New York Housing Authority and the New York Department of Housing Preservation and Development.

Below is the testimony we provided: 

On August 14, 2020, Deputy Director James Fitzgerald testified before a joint hearing by the New York State Senate Standing Committee on Veterans, Homeland Security & Military Affairs, Assembly Standing Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, and Assembly Subcommittee on Women Veterans on the impacts of COVID-19 on New York's veterans. His full testimony:

On January 21, 2020, Deputy Director James Fitzgerald testified before the annual NYC Council hearing on oversight of the Department of Veterans' Services--the most important hearing of the year for the Committee on Veterans. With the recent release of Mayor de Blasio's Preliminary Budget, funding for DVS is proposed to increase. But the oversight hearing itself was sparsely attended by Veterans Committee members, who left their seats mostly vacant during the majority of the hearing, the exception being veteran spouse Council Member Alicka Ampry-Samuel, who remained engaged with substantive questions. Committee Chair Chaim Deutsch, who announced his candidacy for another elected office that day, was not present for the full hearing. 

Below is the testimony delivered by Deputy Director Fitzgerald:

On February 27, 2019, Director of Policy and Legislative Advocacy Sam Molik testified before the NYC Council's Committee on Mental Health, Disabilities & Addiction in an oversight hearing on the first three years of the ThriveNYC program addressing mental health for New Yorkers:

On February 26th, 2019, Samuel Molik, Director of Policy and Legislative Advocacy, testified before the NYC Council's Joint Committees on Veterans and Mental Health, Disabilities & Addiction in an oversight hearing on veteran suicide and mental health:

On November 19th, 2018, our Director of Policy & Legislative Advocacy, Sam Molik, testified before the NYC Council Committees on Aging and Mental Health, Disabilities and Addiction in an oversight hearing on mental wellness in older adults.

The hearing also considered Introduction 1180, which would require caseworkers providing services at senior centers to complete the mental health first aid training course for older adults offered by the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and to complete a refresher training course at least once every three years.

Below is his testimony:

On October 29, 2018, NYC Veterans Alliance presented testimony before the NYC Council Committee on Veterans in a hearing on oversight of ensuring veteran access to City-administered services. The hearing also considered Introduction 1118, which would require the Department of Veterans’ Services (DVS) to submit an annual report to the council including specific personnel and performance indicators. Specifically, DVS would be required to report on the number of employees serving in each title within the agency as well as the services provided by each title. In addition, this report would include an accounting of the number of veterans who received services from DVS as well as how veterans and their families learned about the services provided by the agency.

Today's NYC Council Committee on Consumer Affairs and Business Licensing held a hearing on three different bills proposing to restrict access of street vendors around the World Trade Center and downtown Flushing, as well as a ban on a certain type of char-broiler used by food vendors. Details of the hearing and these bills are HERE.

As part of our 2018 Action Agenda, we are continuing to speak up for veteran street vendors. We were unable to attend today's hearing, but submitted the following letter to the committee:

On Monday, March 6, 2017, the NYC Veterans Alliance presented testimony at the Preliminary Budget Hearing held by the NYC Council Committee on Veterans. Below is the prepared testimony of Kristen Rouse on behalf of the Alliance:

On Thursday, December 8th, the NYC Veterans Alliance presented testimony at a joint hearing of the NYC Council Committee on Veterans and the Committee on Finance regarding Introduction 1304, which would amend the Alternative Tax Exemption for veterans to include exemption of NYC school taxes for eligible veterans. Below is the testimony of Kristen Rouse:

My name is Kristen Rouse. I am a veteran of the United States Army, I served three tours of duty with the Army in Afghanistan, and I live in Brooklyn. I am testifying on behalf of the more than 220 dues-paying members of the NYC Veterans Alliance.

Affordable housing is a top concern for all New Yorkers, but when we discuss veteran housing in particular—we’re often told to stand in line. Yet going back to the veterans who came home from World War II, veteran reintegration and housing have been intimately linked. Veterans returning home to New York City didn’t just have the G.I. Bill assurances of an education and guaranteed home loan—they also had more than 11,000 apartments in Peter Cooper Village built specifically for veterans and their families to give them the baseline stability they needed to get back to work and build this city’s economy and livelihood as what we now call the Greatest Generation. Yet since that tremendous investment for veterans—and its even greater payoff for New York City and America—our city just hasn’t made the same investment in its veterans.