Thursday, April 23, 2026, 10 a.m. (New York City time), 250 Broadway - 8th Floor - Hearing Room 3
Committee: Committee on Veterans
The Committee on Veterans, chaired by Council Member Morano, held an oversight hearing on serving post-9/11 veterans and heard legislation Intro 488, sponsored by Council Member Vernikov, requiring HPD annual reporting on the veterans preference in Mitchell-Lama housing. Department of Veterans Services Commissioner (captioned as "Justin Yamata"/"commissioner Matta") testified on the roughly 28,555 post-9/11 veterans in New York City, describing outreach, peer-support (Dwyer program), housing placements, data-reporting reform, Local Law 37 implementation, and plans for a ruck and resource fair after the cancellation of the announced ticker-tape parade. Council Members Paladino and De La Rosa questioned the commissioner on outcomes, VA hospital coordination, and services for immigrant service members. The administration stated support for Intro 488 with suggested tweaks, and the Veteran Advisory Board report was posted publicly. Eleven members of the public testified, many urging restoration of the ticker-tape parade, stronger support for veterans housing (including Mitchell-Lama preference enforcement), and funding for veterans nonprofits.
0:01 Please science also for
0:01 electronic devices moving
0:03 forward no one has to approach
0:04 this if you wish t
0:05 oparticipate in today's hearinge
0:07 card with the sergeant at arms l
0:10 operation chair we are ready
0:14 to begin good morning I'm a
0:16 Council Member moreno I have
0:18 the privilege of chairing the
0:20 committee on veterans I want
0:23 to thank everybody for joining
0:25 us or watching on television
0:26 or on the internet and this is
0:30 a hearing that I've been very
0:31 very eager to do this
0:33 oversight hearing is about
0:35 serving post 9 11 veterans the
0:38 committee is looking forward
0:40 to hearing from the New York
0:41 City part mint of veterans
0:43 services particularly their
0:43 distinguished commissioner and
0:45 other stakeholders including
0:47 veterans themselves veterans
0:49 advocates and anybody that's
0:49 been paying attention to this
0:51 issue on how the City is doing
0:53 in serving this unique and
0:57 growing population of veterans
1:01 before diving into our
1:02 oversight topic I also want t
1:04 omention that we will be
1:06 hearing the following piece of
1:09 legislation and anybody is
1:09 welcome to comment on this
1:11 legislation as well this is
1:13 intro number 0 4 8 8 at 20 20
1:19 20 20 which is uh sponsored by
1:21 my colleague Council Member
1:22 ina vernon aww which would
1:25 require an annual report from
1:25 the department of housing
1:27 preservation and development
1:28 on the number of veterans
1:30 applying for housing in City
1:33 run mitchell llama
1:34 developments the number of
1:35 veterans being selected for
1:37 occupancy and the documentary
1:39 requirements and in place to
1:40 ensure that applicants
1:42 benefiting from a veteran
1:43 preference are in fact
1:44 veterans and we will have
1:47 councilmember vernick ov speak
1:48 about her bill in just a bit
1:51 now as far as our oversight
1:53 topic goes New York City is
1:55 home to anywhere between
2:01 125200000 veterans including
2:03 nearly 28000 who have served
2:06 in the post 9 11 era.
2:09 This is a generation whose
2:09 military service has been
2:12 shaped by September 11 an
2:14 dextended deployments to among
2:15 other places the conflicts in
2:18 iraq and afghanistan and these
2:19 are folks that are now
2:20 building their lives here in
2:23 New York City um it's really
2:26 this is the hearing that I've
2:28 been particularly eager to do
2:30 growing up in staten island
2:32 and knowing so many first
2:35 responders that died in the
2:36 world trade center it really
2:38 marks a moment in my life of
2:41 before and after and not only
2:44 in terms of the issues that
2:46 were related to ground zero
2:48 but all of the military
2:50 conflicts that happened
2:51 afterwards but when it comes
2:53 to the issue of post 9 11.
2:55 Veterans so many of the
2:58 other conflicts that I've
2:59 studied over the years so many
3:00 of the veterans that I've
3:02 talked to it's really
3:03 something that I have largely
3:06 viewed as happening before as
3:08 being history the the post 9
3:11 11 veterans me are my peers
3:12 this is the first group of
3:15 veterans that have either been
3:17 the same age or younger than
3:19 me and that it causes you t
3:22 oview it through a very
3:24 different world view and the
3:26 more dug into the issues
3:28 related to post 9 11 issues of
3:30 post 9 11 veterans the more
3:33 I've seen how unique the
3:35 challenges that they're facing
3:37 are and how unique the that
3:38 that they bring to the table
3:40 in so many different fields
3:42 are just like veterans of
3:45 world war I and the first
3:48 persian gulf war they've had
3:50 all sorts of New health issues
3:53 that the existing health care
3:56 infrastructure wasn't
3:57 necessarily well suited t
3:59 oaddress just like victims of
4:02 world war some of them came
4:03 home with very visible
4:05 injuries which in some cases
4:07 affected not only their
4:08 physical bility to do certain
4:09 jobs but their mental outlook
4:12 just like veterans of some of
4:15 the conflicts that they were
4:17 involved in weren't that
4:19 popular and believe it or not
4:22 that actually reflected in a
4:22 lot of the ways that their
4:25 folks were greeting them when
4:27 they came back from fighting
4:29 overseas and just like
4:30 veterans of the korean war and
4:33 other conflicts they've had a
4:35 lot of ailments that aren't
4:38 necessarily visible but the
4:41 two things that separate them
4:43 now in this era that we're
4:45 living in now are one the fact
4:49 that unlike veterans that came
4:51 home from vietnam from world
4:52 war from korea we have a much
4:57 much lower percentage of the
5:00 population that our veterans.
5:01 That has served in the
5:03 military so where is if you
5:05 came home in a prior conflict
5:06 you had a pretty good chance
5:08 of running into a veteran at
5:09 the bowling alley or at the
5:11 elks club or at a neighborhood
5:13 restaurant it's much much
5:15 fewer and far between in terms
5:17 of encountering post 9 1
5:19 1veterans
5:20 . The other issue is because
5:23 of the age of a lot of the
5:24 folks that we're talking about
5:26 here they are not retirees in
5:28 many
5:29 . Instances they are still in
5:30 the midst of their career
5:32 they're still in the midst of
5:34 starting a family managing
5:35 their family being ahead of of
5:37 household balancing all of
5:39 that while potentially trying
5:41 to fight with a state City and
5:44 federal bureaucracy about the
5:46 benefits that they're entitled
5:48 to a show this is a group that
5:51 I am very very committed t
5:54 oserving to helping and t
5:56 ousing this hearing as a
5:57 platform to find out how the
5:59 City Council can best do that
6:02 my goal in this hearing is not
6:04 only to focus the attention of
6:06 the City Council on issues
6:08 that are related to post 9 11
6:09 veterans and to try to come up
6:11 with as much legislation that
6:13 we can do to help them if
6:14 there is budgetary that need
6:16 to be refocused in their
6:18 direction we're going to try
6:20 to do that but it's also t
6:22 ofocus the attention of the
6:23 public on the plight of post 9
6:26 11 veterans unfortunately one
6:27 of the things that's in the
6:28 City Council now is you don't
6:32 have a single veteran and what
6:35 that often leads to is a
6:37 veterans perspective being
6:38 ignored I can tell you my
6:40 colleagues on the left and on
6:42 the right when I talked t
6:44 othem about veterans issues
6:45 every single one of them seems
6:47 eager to help the folks on the
6:50 left are eager to prioritize
6:51 ssocial services related issuese
6:58 desperate to do anything t
7:01 oprove their determination to
7:03 serve people in uniform and
7:04 folks that they believe have
7:06 fought for america
7:07 . Veterans issues should be
7:09 the one area where there is no
7:12 debate where there is
7:15 universal consensus on not
7:16 whether we should do something d
7:21 unfortunately budgetarily the
7:23 veterans in the City are still
7:25 not getting there just due I'm
7:27 determined through these
7:28 hearings particularly this one
7:29 to make sure that the
7:31 perspective of veterans is
7:34 heard and I am going to be
7:35 amplifying what we hear today
7:38 throughout every corner of the
7:39 City especially in my district
7:42 in New York City the other
7:45 thing about post 9 11 veterans m
7:48 their predecessors and I'm
7:49 sure you'll hear this from
7:50 others today that are more
7:52 expert than me is because of
7:54 the change in women being able
7:57 to serve in combat it's a much
7:59 higher percentage of people
8:00 that are female veterans
8:02 because of the abolition of
8:03 don't ask don't tell there's a
8:05 much higher percentage of
8:08 lgbtq folks those all bring
8:10 with it a very separate set of
8:14 challenges and because of what
8:15 everybody's in New York City
8:17 is facing right now the issue
8:21 of affordability have a
8:23 situation where in New York
8:24 City veterans are trying to I
8:26 nsome cases transition back t
8:30 ocivilian life while battling
8:32 the issues of affordability
8:33 which make New York not so
8:34 affordable for so many.
8:35 At this point before I
8:37 introduce my other colleagues
8:38 I want to welcome the
8:42 aforementioned Council Member
8:43 ina vernick aww before she
8:44 talks about her legislation
8:46 the folks of this City should
8:49 know what a warrior council
8:52 member vernick is for I think
8:54 it says a great deal the fact
8:56 that her her aide is a combat
9:00 veteran who's himself a post 9
9:03 11 veteran troy but she is
9:05 someone who eats breathes and
9:08 sleeps veterans issues not
9:10 just for the veterans that
9:12 live and are fortunate to have
9:13 her as a Council Member in
9:14 brooklyn but for throughou
9:18 tthis City and I can tell you
9:19 on this specific piece of
9:21 legislation this is not a New
9:22 issue for her and she's worked
9:25 doggedly to get it passed in
9:26 the last City Council and
9:29 hopefully we can do it in this
9:31 City Council councilmember
9:31 hornick aww thank you
9:33 . Thank you very much
9:35 councilor Morano good
9:36 afternoon everyone it's great
9:38 to see introduction hundred 8
9:39 before this committee today
9:41 . Intro 48 would require that
9:42 the department of housing
9:44 preservation and development
9:45 submit reports on veterans
9:47 preference in mitchell aama
9:48 developments my rationale for
9:49 this bill is simple this is a
9:52 great resource already in
9:52 place for those who have
9:53 served this country and too
9:55 many are missing out on it New
9:57 York City is home to more than
9:59 100000 veterans including over
10:01 3 30000 in the borough of
10:03 brook oaklyn mecca lama
10:04 housing dates to the dates
10:05 back to the 1950s has many of
10:08 the qualities that New York
10:09 er's seek and that veterans
10:12 need every mitchell llama
10:13 building as an elevator
10:14 building which is high up
10:15 there as a top need the
10:16 veterans preference on
10:18 mitchell llama waiting list
10:19 for housing is one of the
10:20 great tools we must utilize
10:22 not only to combat veterans
10:24 homelessness or veterans
10:26 facing housing and security
10:27 but do so in a way that is
10:30 permanent affordable and
10:30 sustainable to keep veterans
10:31 in our City at a time when the
10:33 cost of living is far too high e
10:38 for veterans falls by the
10:41 wayside as a veterans
10:42 committee at a veterans
10:42 committee hearing last session s
10:45 hendon of the department of
10:47 veterans services said that
10:49 the top issue facing the
10:50 city's veterans is not self
10:52 identifying as a veteran this
10:55 pattern extends to veteran
10:57 preference as well it's not
10:59 widely known about at a recent
11:01 legislative breakfast hosted
11:02 by the vfw queen's housing was
11:05 identified as a top need
11:07 facing the city's
11:08 . Veterans in a 2012 report by
11:11 the office of the state
11:13 comptroller 18 sampled
11:14 mitchell aama housing
11:15 developments with open waiting
11:16 lists were reviewed these
11:18 developments filled 332
11:20 vacancies during the review
11:21 period and only 14 of which
11:24 were filled by a veteran those
11:26 findings also found that
11:28 veterans were passed over for
11:30 vacancies at some locations
11:32 including two developments in
11:34 manhattan.
11:34 These developments are
11:35 suitable housing for all sorts
11:36 of veterans and a variety of
11:37 financial situations and
11:40 represent a permanent
11:41 investment in the City because
11:42 those who get into mitchel
11:44 llama housing often like it
11:45 and stay there as a City we
11:47 need to do a better job of
11:50 ensuring this preferences
11:51 known about and the veterans
11:53 preferences is taking on
11:55 selections I'd like to thank
11:57 this committee for hearing
11:58 this bill chair marano members
11:59 of the committee and all those
12:00 who are here today and I asked
12:02 that my colleagues sign on t
12:04 ointro 48 and I also like t
12:07 othank mike monas who a veteran
12:08 here with us today who has
12:10 utilized this preference and
12:13 troy olson my legislative
12:14 director who is also a veteran r
12:17 their service to this great
12:19 country thank you very much.
12:20 Thank you very much
12:24 councilmember vernon aww here
12:25 in New York the challenge is
12:27 that 9 11 11 are facing are
12:29 particularly evident more than
12:31 half of recently separated
12:34 veterans report a service
12:35 connected disability and about
12:38 one in four experienced
12:40 symptoms of or depression and
12:42 while most are insured many
12:44 are working too many report
12:45 difficulty navigating care
12:47 services are knowing where t
12:47 oturn and when all these
12:50 systems fail often one of the
12:51 clearest and most immediate
12:54 consequences is housing
12:55 instability and in a City
12:57 where securing housing is one
12:58 of the hardest and most
13:00 expensive endeavors many newly
13:02 transitioned veterans find
13:04 themselves literally at the
13:05 brink of homelessness and
13:06 sometimes actually homeless
13:07 well over the past decade New
13:09 York City has reduced veteran
13:11 homeless by homelessness by
13:12 more than 85% declining from
13:15 over 4600 veterans in shelters
13:18 in 2011 to just over 624 this
13:23 progress progress doesn't
13:24 eliminate many post the risk
13:26 that many post 9 11 veterans
13:28 face and we're going to work
13:29 just as hard until that number
13:30 goes from 600 to 0 I'm I'm
13:32 looking forward to today's
13:34 testimony and to strengthening
13:36 support for post 9 11 veterans
13:38 throughout New York City.
13:38 I want to acknowledge my
13:41 colleagues on the committee
13:42 who are here today and folks
13:44 should know who are watching
13:46 on television or in the room
13:48 that aye we come from very
13:50 different backgrounds
13:50 different political parties
13:51 different ethnicities
13:53 different boroughs but we are
13:54 yhow to best serve New York
13:59 veterans particularly.
14:00 Post 9 11 veterans at first
14:04 want to welcome a council Wong r
14:09 Carmen De La Rosa thank you
14:12 and a Council Member vernick
14:13 aww who you just heard
14:14 . From I also want to conclude
14:17 by thanking the veterans
14:20 committee staff policy analyst
14:21 manu our beauty a financial
14:24 analyst margaret barnsley for
14:26 their hard work in preparing
14:28 for this hearing but I want t
14:29 ogive a special thank you t
14:32 oour legislative council
14:35 alejandro carvajal who has
14:37 moved on to greener pastures