Wednesday, October 21, 2026, 10 a.m. (New York City time), 250 Broadway - 8th Floor - Hearing Room 3
Committee: Committee on Veterans
The Committee on Veterans, joined with the Committee on General Welfare, held an oversight hearing on veteran homelessness in New York City, co-chaired by Council Member Frank Morano and Council Member Crystal Hudson. Administration testimony came from the Department of Veterans Services (Commissioner Yesenia Mata) and the Department of Social Services (Commissioner Aaron Dalton, with Deputy Commissioner Sonja Russell), covering the Borden Avenue Veterans Residence, the City's withdrawal from the federal VA Grant and Per Diem program, shelter conditions, and housing placements. Members questioned officials on roof leaks and tarps, shower privacy, food quality, the confidentiality form required for elected-official shelter visits, empty beds at Borden Avenue, and street homelessness outreach. The hearing also covered legislation: Intro 1051 (property tax exemption for seriously disabled veterans), Intro 897 (severe winter weather response), Resolution 0560 (federal Fair Access to Co-ops for Veterans Act), and Resolution 0634 (Veterans Organizations Awareness Week). Roughly 25 members of the public and advocates testified in person and remotely. No votes were taken.
0:13 Thank you good morning and
0:13 welcome to today's near City
0:15 council hearing from the
0:17 committee of veterans joined
0:18 with the committee on general
0:19 welfare at this time I'd like
0:21 to remind everyone to please
0:22 silence their electronic
0:24 devices and at no point is
0:25 anyone to approach the dais.
0:27 Chairs we're ready to begin
0:31 . Hello everyone I am
0:34 councilmember Frank moreno I
0:35 have the privilege of being
0:37 the chair of the committee on
0:40 veterans and this is my kind
0:42 of
0:42 . Hearing not only do I love
0:44 to see a packed house both at
0:48 the testimony table and not an
0:52 available seat to be had in
0:53 the crowd which hopefully
0:54 means we'll have a lot of
0:54 members of the public
0:56 testifying I'm also hoping
0:57 we'll have a lot of folks
0:58 testifying on zoom but you
1:01 know when I sought to have
1:05 this chairmanship I really
1:06 sought to do it because I
1:07 thought this would be a
1:08 position where I could really
1:09 help a lot of people
1:11 particularly people who don't
1:13 get the help that they deserve
1:15 from the City the state and
1:18 the federal government in
1:18 spite of the fact that they're
1:22 still the first to help others s
1:25 and I'm particularly excited
1:27 that it is a joint committee
1:29 hearing with the committee on
1:31 general welfare I'm joined by
1:34 my colleague councilmember
1:35 Crystal Hudson chair of the
1:36 the committee on welfare and
1:38 we're doing this joint
1:40 oversight hearing on one of
1:42 the most important issues
1:43 facing New York today and
1:45 that's the issue of veteran
1:46 homelessness in New York City
1:47 thank you for joining us t
1:49 odiscuss this important topic I
1:52 was so eager to co chair this
1:56 hearing with councilmember
1:57 Hudson not only because of my
1:58 respect for her as a council
2:01 member but because we do not
2:03 see this the world the same
2:04 way we come from different
2:06 political parties different
2:07 ideologies different boroughs
2:08 different genders if there's a
2:11 difference chart we're just
2:12 about on a different page when
2:13 it comes to everything but
2:15 we're on the same page when it
2:18 comes to the importance of
2:19 needing to do something about
2:21 veteran snus and in addition
2:24 to hopefully getting a lot of
2:25 great ideas in terms of future
2:27 legislation in addition t
2:28 oshining a light on some things
2:29 that need to be shining a
2:31 light on in addition to
2:33 enhancing our own notification
2:34 tat borden avenue specifically
2:40 my hope is that by having two
2:42 people like us who come from
2:45 totally different corners of
2:46 the world addressing this
2:48 problem in a very real way and
2:50 take it seriously hopefully
2:52 this is a wake up call to the
2:55 eight and a half million New
2:56 York er's that might not be
2:57 attuned to this issue that we
2:59 have 140 to a hundred 50000
3:02 people that could really use
3:03 help in this.
3:04 City and that's why I'm
3:06 excited about this.
3:06 Like many communities
3:08 . Across the country New York
3:09 City continues to face a
3:12 homelessness crisis driven by
3:14 rising housing costs and a
3:16 shortage of affordable housing r
3:19 veterans are not immune t
3:22 othese challenges and ensuring
3:22 that those who served are
3:24 country have access to stable
3:27 housing remains a critical
3:29 responsibility now the good
3:31 news is New York City has made
3:34 a significant progress in
3:35 reducing veteran homelessness
3:36 over the past decade in 20 2
3:40 5there were 697 homeless
3:43 veterans in New York City
3:44 that's down from 1558 homeless
3:48 veterans in 20015 that's a 44%
3:53 decrease I can promise you I'm
3:55 going to be working pretty
3:56 hard on this issue until that
3:57 number goes from 697 2 0 there
4:01 should there's no excuse for
4:02 veteran homelessness in New
4:03 York City as far as I'm
4:06 concerned and the successes
4:07 that we've had are due in part
4:11 to the coordinated efforts of
4:14 and their partners we're going
4:15 to hear from them all today
4:18 veterans experiencing
4:19 homelessness can access
4:20 emergency shelter transitional
4:22 housing rental assistance case
4:23 management and permanent
4:26 housing opportunities and
4:27 these services have helped
4:28 many veterans move from
4:31 homelessness to permanent
4:31 housing and achieve long term
4:35 stability however between 201
4:38 5and excuse me between 20 22
4:41 and 20 25 the number of
4:42 homeless veterans has
4:43 increased a little bit since
4:46 20 22 we have seen an increase
4:48 from 482 2 297 individuals so
4:53 while we are in a much better
4:55 position from where we were 1
4:57 0years ago we're not in as good
4:58 of a position as where we were
5:01 four years ago what's going on.
5:02 What's driving that why do
5:04 we have more homeless veterans
5:06 now than we did in 20 22 and
5:08 more importantly what can we
5:09 do about it so this increase
5:12 is raising a lot of important
5:14 questions about whether
5:16 existing housing resources
5:17 supportive services and
5:18 homelessness prevention
5:19 efforts are keeping pace with
5:23 current needs specifically we
5:24 are going to be diving
5:27 headfirst into what's going on
5:29 over at the borden avenue
5:33 veterans shelter councilmember
5:33 Hudson has been there I've
5:36 been there councilmember wang
5:37 has been there I know a number
5:39 of members of the committee
5:40 and a number of council
5:42 members who are not on my
5:43 committee have been there and
5:45 we all have independent
5:47 observations and we're going
5:48 to be posing the questions
5:49 about what we observed to all
5:50 the folks that you're going t
5:52 ohear from today there's also a
5:54 whole lot of uncertainty
5:57 surrounding federal funding
5:57 for the borden avenue veterans e
6:02 conflicting explanations that
6:03 have been offered regarding
6:06 the facility's exclusion from
6:07 the latest va grant and per
6:10 diem funding awards what's
6:11 going on here is this
6:13 something that's easily
6:14 rectify aboul and you know
6:16 beyond on here on here can we
6:18 make sure that every veteran
6:20 that had a a bed that was paid
6:22 for by this va grant sees no
6:25 disruption in that bed because
6:28 of the city's decision to opt
6:29 out of this grant so the City
6:31 has committed to maintaining
6:34 services questions remain
6:36 about how lost federal funding
6:37 is going to be replaced and
6:38 what impact if any the funding
6:40 dispute have on operations the
6:43 discussion has also renewed
6:44 attention to reported concerns
6:46 about the conditions at the
6:48 shelter and the quality of
6:48 life for veterans living there
6:50 at the time when veterans
6:53 homelessness is rising it's
6:54 pretty important that there
6:57 are absolutely no disruptions
6:58 not just to housing but to the
7:00 supportive services that
7:03 veterans are seeking them.
7:04 And it's equally important
7:05 that efforts to move veterans
7:07 from shelter into permanent
7:09 housing remain a priority
7:10 regardless of the recent
7:12 events a affecting
7:13 . Funding and today's hearing
7:14 is an opportunity to examine
7:16 the effectiveness of the
7:18 city's response identifying
7:20 remaining gaps and ensure that
7:23 veterans experiencing
7:24 homelessness receive the
7:25 necessary support they need t
7:27 osecure and maintain permanent
7:29 housing.
7:29 In addition to our oversight
7:31 topic today we will be hearing
7:33 about a number of pieces of
7:35 legislation intro number 205
7:38 0sponsored by me which would
7:41 amend the administrative code
7:42 in relation to alternative
7:44 exemption for seriously
7:47 disabled veterans I'll talk
7:48 more about that in a minute
7:48 and hopefully we'll hear some
7:50 testimony from and from the
7:52 public about this we're going
7:53 to be hearing introduction
7:55 number 0 897 Council Member
7:58 foley's which would amend the
7:59 the administrative code in
8:00 relation to the department of
8:02 social services response to
8:03 certain severe winter weather
8:04 ines we're going to be hearing
8:07 a resolution number 0 560
8:10 sponsored by councilmember
8:11 palladino which is calling on
8:12 the federal government t
8:13 oenact the fair access to co
8:15 ops for veterans act and we're
8:18 going to be hearing resolution
8:20 number 0 6 3 4 which I've also
8:23 sponsored which is seeking t
8:25 orecognize 500 and c 19 veteran
8:28 organizations and designate
8:29 the week that includes
8:34 November 11 annually as
8:35 veterans organizations
8:36 awareness week before I
8:37 conclude I want to acknowledge
8:40 councilmember Hudson chair of
8:40 the committee on general
8:42 welfare for working with me on
8:43 this oversight hearing and
8:45 it's clear that she recognizes
8:46 as much as I do how crucial it
8:50 is to address the housing
8:51 issues veterans face and the
8:53 barriers to safe and stable
8:55 shelter that a lot of people
8:58 still.
8:58 Experience I'd also like to
8:59 thank the committee staff a
9:02 legislative council hanna cone e
9:08 policy analyst manor boot boot a
9:13 rosenberg senior financial
9:14 analyst Sandra gray and
9:17 community liaison sebastian
9:18 nematt for their hard work in
9:20 preparing for this hearing I'd
9:21 also like to thank my staff
9:23 for their work as we continue
9:24 to serve our constituents and
9:26 the City as a whole I'm
9:28 looking forward to today's
9:30 testimony and to strengthening
9:31 support for veterans
9:33 experiencing homelessness in
9:34 New York City I'll now turn
9:36 so much chairman rano and you
9:41 know you a went through a
9:44 litany of differences that we
9:46 have but a couple of
9:47 similarities I will say one
9:49 where both parents and your
9:52 siblings live in my district
9:53 so you've got some pretty
9:54 smart so I don't want to tell
9:55 you who they're favorite
9:59 Council Member is
10:00 . Am good morning everyone my
10:01 name is Hudson I'm chair of
10:03 the general welfare committee
10:04 and my pronouns are she her I
10:06 want to welcome our veterans
10:09 their families caregivers
10:09 service providers and
10:10 advocates who have joined us
10:12 today your input is invaluable
10:14 to the work of this committee
10:15 and plays an important role in
10:16 what we do moving forward as
10:19 most of as of the most recent
10:21 data released on veteran
10:22 homelessness in New York City
10:24 there are approximately 700
10:26 homeless veterans in our City
10:27 including those that are
10:28 living in shelter while this
10:30 number represents a decline in
10:30 the number of homeless
10:32 veterans since 20 14 it is
10:35 still unacceptable these are
10:36 New yorkers who valiantly
10:37 served our nation at an
10:39 enormous personal cost and who e
10:42 counting on their City to
10:44 guide them into stable and
10:45 permanent housing our aim with
10:47 this hearing is to hear from
10:48 the city's providers veterans
10:50 and homeless advocates about
10:51 how we can improve the
10:52 services we provide to our
10:54 veterans the hope is to have a
10:56 productive cordial discussion
10:58 where we learn more about what
10:58 is happening on the ground
11:00 what the council can do as an
11:02 oversight and legislative body
11:03 and how we ultimately get our
11:05 veterans housed.
11:06 I like to mention and think
11:09 commissioner dalton that for
11:11 joining me last night in our
11:12 visit to the borden avenue
11:15 veterans shelter I think the
11:17 commissioner has done a lot of
11:19 work to address the specific
11:22 shelter and the issues there
11:24 we spoke with a number of
11:25 veterans at the shelter last
11:27 night and I think ultimately
11:29 what we can all agree on is
11:31 that they are not getting what
11:34 they should as veterans and
11:36 that's not even in terms of
11:38 the specifics at the shelter
11:40 but broadly culturally I will
11:41 say in this country I don't
11:43 think we're providing veterans
11:45 with all that they need and
11:46 that they rightly deserve I'd
11:48 like to thank the
11:50 administration for being here
11:52 to chair Morano and my
11:52 colleagues for their
11:54 constructive engagement and
11:55 advocates veterans service
11:57 organizations and families for
11:59 joining us I also want t
12:00 othank committee staff for
12:01 their work on this hearing the
12:02 names have already been
12:03 mentioned but I'll say them
12:05 again hanna cohen nina
12:06 rosenberg and Justin campos
12:08 and I also like to thank my
12:10 staff andrew wright aleka rue
12:12 wanton demi brown and maddie
12:14 morehead and with that I'll
12:15 return the mic back to chair
12:16 murano thank you thank you
12:19 chair Hudson I also was
12:20 negligent and not
12:23 acknowledging and thanking the
12:24 man whose got the toughest job
12:26 in City government the
12:29 executive director of the New
12:30 York City republican
12:31 conference peter spencer who's
12:33 been a big help not just in
12:34 this hearing but in everything
12:34 that we do um I want to
12:38 acknowledge several of on the
12:40 veterans committee that are
12:43 here a member wang council
12:44 member De La people are still
12:47 talking about from the
12:48 incredible job that she did
12:49 sharing these a I hearings and
12:52 a Council Member palladino who
12:54 have to to tell you in
12:56 addition to representing more
12:57 veterans in her district than
12:58 all of the rest of us she has
13:01 really been the most vocal
13:04 about the need for this
13:06 committee.
13:06 To pursue joint hearings
13:09 with other committees because
13:10 of all the common areas that
13:13 veteran issues go along with
13:14 throughout the rest of the
13:15 City and I have to tell you
13:17 this hearing is largely a
13:19 byproduct of her energy and
13:21 her insistence that we do that
13:22 and I have to tell you so far
13:24 all of these joint hearings
13:26 I've found to be incredibly
13:29 informative and incredibly
13:31 productive so
13:32 . Councilmember Paladino thank
13:33 you for your advocacy for
13:34 veterans and before we begin I
13:36 would love for you to speak
13:38 about your resolution which I
13:40 proud to sponsor thank you
13:43 Frank thank you Frank and
13:44 thank you to everybody who
13:45 came out this morning you know e
13:50 veterans served our country
13:51 and should have the
13:53 opportunity to use their va va
13:56 home loan benefits to purchase
13:57 a co op or a condo as just as
14:00 they were used they used their
14:03 benefits to purchase home
14:04 loans much how my mother and
14:07 father got their home my