DOWN RANGE AND HOME AGAIN

A BRIEFING PAPER ON CREATING A NEW DIRECTION FOR MILITARY VETERANS IN NEW YORK CITY

With malice towards none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nations wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations. Abraham Lincolns Second Inaugural Address, March, 4, 1865

This briefing paper was created and complied by Joseph A. Bello with the assistance of Edward M. Daniels, II; along with input from a number of local veteran leaders, military family members and supporters in the New York City area. Special thanks to Lee Covino, Joe Graffagnino, Michael Kim, Joe Mondello, Doug George, Robert (Bob) Greene, Cal Snyder, Dan Rossi, Don MacIver, Ruben Pratts, Will Weder, Vicki Bello, Dino Garcia, Samuel E. Farrell, II and Amy Mansicalco. We would also like to thank The Food Bank of New York City and City Limits. For more information or to discuss, please contact Joe Bello at: bjoe7@hotmail.com.

Veterans Crisis Line (1-800-273-8255, press 1)

http://veteranscrisisline.net/ The Crisis Line, mandated by the Joshua Omvig Veteran Suicide Prevention Act of 2007, provides immediate support to veterans, service members and their families.

July 8, 2013

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INTRODUCTION
Serving in the United States Armed Forces demands exceptional bravery, strength and courage, not only from the men and women who serve but from their families at home. As Americans we owe all veterans our support and assistance in helping them access the support and resources they need in order to make the successful transition from service to life at home. New York State has the fourth largest veteran population in the United States with nearly one million residents who have served the nation (including over 67,000 women veterans who volunteered to serve) and is the third largest military state with 90,000 residents who are in service. Almost 12,000 service members are deployed from New York State at any given time (although this number is rapidly decreasing), with the majority coming from the New York City area. Because of the large and diverse population of servicemen and women, New York State offers a variety of veterans assistance programs, including property tax exemption, educational assistance for certain veterans and their family members, a state veterans nursing home program and the recently signed into law New York State Drivers license program, which will allow an individual to indicate if he or she is a veteran of the United States Armed Forces. Although military operations in Iraq officially concluded in 2012, the United States has been engaged in the Global War on Terror (GWOT) for over a decade, and we are still sending troops into harms way even as we move to conclude operations in Afghanistan by 2014. Therefore, New York City needs to continue to assess the needs of those veterans who are already home, those who have just recently returned home and those who will be returning. The next administration will have to better advocate on their behalf and create policies and programs that will help them avoid pain and distress as they transition back to their local communities within the five boroughs.

NEW YORK CITY VETERANS

According to the United States Census Bureaus 5-years estimates from 2007-2011; there are approximately 224,096 veterans throughout the five (5) boroughs with the majority population being Vietnam Veterans. These numbers break down as follows:

County (Boroughs) Bronx Kings New York Queens Richmond Total:

Veterans 37,866 54,941 47,282 62,591 21,416 224,096

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Out of these total numbers, more than 18,000 New York City residents have been deployed to Iraq and/or Afghanistan. Active Duty 2,145 3,575 1,742 3,301 826 11,589 Reserve 1,265 2,065 912 1,839 439 6,520 Total 3,410 5,640 2,654 5,140 1,265 18,109

Bronx Kings New York Queens Richmond Total:

Note: 40% of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans from New York State have been deployed by the National Guard and Reserves, compared to 22% nationally. Also, these numbers do not indicate how many individuals have had multiple deployments overseas.

RECOMMENDATIONS
With this being an election year for Mayor of the City of New York, the current landscape regarding veterans and the issues surrounding them presents an opportunity for the next mayor to be progressive and show real leadership in assisting the citys veterans population. Therefore, the primary intent of this briefing paper is to educate the mayoral candidates to better understand some of the major concerns and issues as they pertain to military veterans in New York City. Secondary, we wish for each candidate to commit to the list of recommendations enclosed within this paper. Our belief is that each mayoral candidate not only commit to these items (in principal) and use them as the baseline of their veterans platforms (both online & in print); but will address these issues should they be elected Mayor.

(1) MAYORS OFFICE OF VETERANS AFFAIRS (MOVA)______________

Because of the reported issues, problems and frustrations with the Mayors Office of Veterans Affairs over the past 12 years, the next mayor must commit to a total top-tobottom sweep of the entire office (including a new Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner, etc.) and make significant changes to ensure that a more pro-active leadership will re-build bridges with the entire veterans community as well as with federal, state and city agencies. This must also include a top-down review of the office, its mission and responsibilities as dictated within the City Charter, its current funding level and how to best accomplish establishing services, outreach and leadership to the community.

Recommendation: Clean the entire house at MOVA and bring in personnel

who will provide a more pro-active leadership for the veterans community in New York City.
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(2) NEW YORK CITYS VETERANS ADVISORY BOARD (VAB)__________

The nine members of the citys Veterans Advisory Board (VAB) are charged with advising the Mayors Office of Veterans Affairs (MOVA) Commissioner on all matters concerning veterans in New York City, as well as helping to set city policy that aids veterans. In 2006, the City Council passed & Mayor Bloomberg signed into law Intro. 0233-A. This law was aimed at strengthening the role of the board by mandating them to meet at least four times a year, submit an annual report of activities to the Mayor and Council and allowed for the removal of members for cause if they are not preforming their duties. However, even with these changes the Veterans Advisory Board has been dysfunctional, with no organized or public schedule of meetings, no transparent communication with the community they are supposed to represent and a lack of coordination between both the community and the current administration. There has been no measure of accountability in how and when the board meets with the community in their respective boroughs, who they report to with issues, how those issues make it up the citys chain of command or even how the public can give input to the board. The lack of any published minutes, including the required annual report being made available to the public (online or anywhere), has also contributed to the problem. Another issue is the current terms of appointment of the members. Because of the odd number of years (three) in appointments, there has been a continued re-appointment of the same individuals for years, with changes only coming when someone resigns from the board. This has also contributed to the board being stagnant and becoming a little more than resume filler. The next Mayor (in conjunction with the next Speaker and with input from the new Commissioner) must work together to ensure that the board is completely revamped, is in compliance with New York States Open Meetings law and follows through on its duties as defined in the City Charter to advocate in the best interests of New York Citys veterans community.

Recommendation: Work with the next Speaker to make full and new
appointments to the board. Support legislation that would change the term of appointments from 3 years to 2 so others will have an opportunity to serve.

(3) VETERANS EMPLOYMENT / JOBS & TRAINING__________________

With the economic collapse in 2008 and the current downsizing of the military, there is a major need for employment amongst both older and newer veterans. Because military members are removed from the local employment environment for years at a time, it is possible that returning veterans are disenfranchised as a group, particularly when provisional workers are hired by the city.
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Unemployment Rates in New York City by County

As indicated by the chart below, all New York City counties but one experience higher rates of unemployment for young veterans than the state.
County Veteran Unemployment Rate 18-34 Years Old Veteran Unemployment Rate 35-54 Years Old Veteran Unemployment Rate 55-64 Years Old

Bronx Kings New York Queens Richmond NYS

14.5% 9.6% 17.2% 14.6% 21.2% 12.8%

13.0% 9.5% 10.4% 7.5% 4.7% 7.1%

8.5% 8.6% 7.4% 8.7% 7.0% 6.3%

Note: Nearly 7,000 post-9/11 veterans were unemployed from 2007 2011. (Source: NYS Senator Jeff Klein)

The city charter, Section 814, Parts (13) (14) (15-A) and (15-B-7) provides employment emphasis programs for women and minorities, but not for veterans. Therefore, an initiative to include veterans in these areas or special emphasis should be considered. This can be started with New York Citys Department of Small Business Services (SBS) helping to develop a component to help those veterans who are looking to start up a small business. The next Mayor should also consider creating a point person for veterans employment as there are currently a number of city agencies, non-profit organizations and veteran organizations that work to help assist veterans with employment. This point person can bring these groups together to better facilitate assisting veterans in finding employment. Minority and Women-owned Business Enterprise (M/WBE) program This past January Mayor Bloomberg signed into law Intro. No. 911, which helped strengthen the Minority and Women-owned Business Enterprise (M/WBE) program by building on the achievements of Local Law 129, passed in 2005. Local Law 129 helped increase the number of M/WBE firms certified to participate in the Citys program from 700 to more than 3,500, with certified firms winning more than $3 billion in City contracts. The city's M/WBE programs has been around for over 22 years now, so the time is right to add veterans to these successful programs and resources as they return en masse from the pending drawdowns. New York City needs to lead the way in creating such a program for veterans. The State would more than likely follow, as it did when then Mayor David Dinkins set up the first M/WBE program throughout the five boroughs.

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There are no such State or local VBE programs anywhere in the metro area and the numbers should be small, since World War II, Korean and Vietnam veterans are aging out and for the most part retired. This program to help veterans can easily be done by adding the class "Veterans" to existing Minority and Women Business Enterprise programs (M/WBE).
Note: To date, State legislation which contained a set aside, rather than just integrating veterans into existing M/WBE programs was vetoed by then-Governor David Paterson several years back. It had passed through both houses of the New York State legislature.

Recommendation: Create a point person to oversee veterans employment.

Support the development of a Veterans Business Enterprise program (VEB) through executive fiat (as a pilot program) or by working with the City Council to create legislation for the program.

(4) PROPERTY TAX EMEPTION (SCHOOL TAX)______________________

Veterans are singled out for penalties on property tax in New York State and New York City because they are the only tax exempt group (such as clergy, senior citizen, STAR, STAR plus, etc.) in NYS that gets re-taxed for school tax. The veterans' tax exemption applies to the portion of property taxes that does not go to education. In 2011, $12 billion of the $18 billion generated by the property tax was allocated to education, leaving only $6 billion for the veterans, or a third of their individual property tax bills that they were exempt from. With federal and state cuts to education, the State and City has been picking up the slack to fund its schools, by continuously reducing the value of the Veterans Tax Exemption. In essence, the value of a veteran's exemption goes down when city spending on education goes up. So, the more we fund schools, the fewer veterans get.

Recommendation: Support City Council Resolution No. 1735-2013 and lobby

the New York State legislature to pass legislation that reforms the unnecessary penalties that reduce the veterans exemption on property taxes.

(5) HOUSING FOR VETERANS____________________________________

After World War II, rent control was established to primarily assist returning veterans. Today, rent control helps few, if any veterans and with luxury housing development outpacing development of low and moderate income housing over the past 12 years, too many neighborhoods are becoming overcrowded. Veterans historically have some difficultly transitioning back into civilian life and if they return home with a traumatic brain injury (TBI), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), or substance abuse; that difficultly can be amplified. Poverty also plays as a risk factor and for those veterans with little family or other support mechanisms and insufficient economic resources; it becomes more difficult to maintain housing.

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With New York City being a tight rental market, it would be beneficial for veterans who are at risk of becoming homeless (couch surfing) or are living in sub-standard housing to have affordable housing options. Previous reports from federal agencies have stated that up to 75% of veterans in supportive housing come from emergency shelters, transitional housing or the streets. As a result, supportive housing has become a major focus of federal resources as the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) (along with the Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) and other federal agencies) move to try and eliminate veteran homelessness by 2015. While we recognize that the issue of veteran homelessness is primarily a federal one, the next Mayor must play an important role in better addressing the housing needs of veterans (particularly those who are disabled) and their families, as well as single female veterans with children by supporting both federal, state and city efforts to provide both supportive and affordable housing options in order for veterans to live and remain in their communities. These policies should be reflected in any housing initiatives through not-for-profit organizations and Requests for Proposals (RFP).

Recommendations:
Increase and work to ensure that current laws regarding the number of citysponsored affordable housing units (80/20 program) are protected and enforced. Work with real estate developers to specifically target veterans for affordable housing through its New York City Affordable Housing Resource Center; as well as provide a long-term plan on housing options for low and moderate individuals and families. Continue Mayor Bloombergs 2006 policy of giving veterans a 30 percent preference for homes taken in foreclosure by the federal government that are being restored by the city and other agencies. Work to expand New York City Housing Authoritys (NYCHA) Housing Assistance for Relocation and Transitional Services (HARTS) program. The inclusion of veterans in this category can potentially assist those veterans who are either at risk or becoming homeless, or who are returning from active duty with few housing options. Help bring NYCHA into compliance with Civil Service Law Section 85, which grants veterans preference in housing. As NYCHA is a public housing agency (PHA); organized and funded primarily through federal and state programs, the requirements for income eligibility and admission preferences for PHAs are based on federal and state law. Section 156 of New York States Public Housing law allows veterans and the families of veterans who served in the Armed Forces between 1961 and 1975 and were injured or killed as a result of this service to meet less stringent income eligibility standards for public housing then for other persons or families of low income (Note: This law needs to be updated to bring
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the current wars into inclusion). Further, under Title 24, CFR, Section 960.206, NYCHA has the authority to adopt a system of local preferences for selection of families admitted to the public housing program.

(6) VETERANS COURTS_______________________________________

Men and women in the United States military endure high costs of service. The impact of military service on veterans can be immense and long-lasting. These may include alcohol and substance abuse, mental illness (PTSD & TBI), homelessness, unemployment, and strained relationships. With the increase of veterans with serious charges in the criminal justice system, comes the need for the system to develop innovative ways of working to address these issues. Created in Buffalo, New York, veterans courts take veterans whose arrests may have resulted from mental or substance abuse problems arising from military service and steer them (in most cases, particularly those with misdemeanors) toward treatment programs. Based on drug and/or mental health treatment courts, the court provides a means to successfully help veterans by diverting them from the traditional criminal justice system and providing them with the tools they need to live a productive and law abiding life through treatment, rehabilitative programming, reinforcement and judicial monitoring. Currently, the King and Queens District Attorneys offices have veterans courts; with the Community Court in Midtown Manhattan recently opening up one for misdemeanors only and the Bronx District Attorneys veterans court coming on-line in November of 2013. More information on veterans courts and what they do can be found at: http://www.ncsc.org/Topics/Problem-Solving-Courts/Veterans-Court/ResourceGuide.aspx

Recommendation: Support policies and help create funding in the city budget
for District Attorneys to keep and expand veteran courts to all five (5) boroughs.

(7) OTHER VETERAN RECOMMENDATIONS_______________________

a. Create a central or borough-based New York City depository for military discharge papers (DD-214) for easier access to benefits and entitlements by veterans or their dependents. Create a law that safeguards an individuals DD-214 (discharge papers) for up to 50 years after they have passed away. b. Re-fund the NYC Veterans Resource Center Initiative. This was one of the most significant and beneficial projects/initiatives that was funded by the New York City Council from 2008 through 2010. These centers were front line entities in providing services to returning veterans and their families as well as to veterans of different eras. Each resource center was uniquely qualified and specialized in a veteran related issue
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(e.g.; housing, legal issues, education, counseling, etc.). At the present time there are few organizations or agencies that provide certain much needed services to veterans. One such service is discharge upgrades, which is currently only accomplished by the Incarcerated Veterans Consortium, Inc. and one other agency. There is a tremendous need within the city for expansion of these personnel at these organizations for VA benefits services and representation of VA claims. These organizations provide the advocacy for veterans that are limited, thus compounding the adjudicating backlog of veteran claims. c. Veteran Vendors. While we recognized that the state legislature addressed this issue a number of years ago, the Bloomberg administration has dropped the ball by not working with or hearing the concerns of the disabled veteran vendors community. This would have allowed the administration and more importantly, the Commissioner for the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) to make more informed and fair decisions regarding these vendors instead of just adhering to local media, BIDs and other groups by lumping disabled veterans with both first amendment and illegal vendors. At issue is that the city discriminates against disabled veteran vendors because of the two classes of vending licenses. A 40% disabled veteran who has a blue license would allow him or her to vend in the midtown core, while a 100% disabled veteran vendor with a yellow license cannot. This has been seen as unacceptable and segregates veterans without the degree of disability - in essence creating two groups of disabled veteran vendors that compete and fight each other. With an estimated 322-disabled veteran vendors in New York City (as well as a DCA waiting list), we recommend that the next mayor either direct the Department of Consumer Affairs to create a veterans committee within its agency to come up with a fair and equitable process for veterans OR work alongside the Councils Consumer Affairs and Veterans Committee to create a policy that would create oversight that is fair and allows disabled veterans vendors to earn a decent living. We recommend that all mayoral candidates review City Council Intro. 447/2006 Disabled Veteran Vendors Bill. d. Homeless Veterans.
No veteran should be sleeping on the streets or in shelters in New York City. Our City and our country owe a debt of gratitude to our veterans, and those who have had the misfortune to become homeless deserve our help to get back on their feet. Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg

The next administration must to do a top to bottom review of all Department of Homeless Services (DHS) programs currently in place for homeless veterans, including current partnerships. We recommend the next Mayor consider creating an interagency working group (headed by someone within DHS to bring together the large number of city agencies, federal agencies, non-profit organizations and veteran organizations that work to help assist veterans with homelessness. This point person can bring these groups together to better facilitate streamlining programs and assisting in finding

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housing while maintaining current partnerships/relationships between federal, state and local agencies. Also, DHS is required by law (NYC Administrative Code Section 21-310) to determine the number of homeless veterans that have entered the city shelters. As such, we strongly recommend that DHS publicly identify, track and publish the number of homeless veterans in the city system within their Critical Activities Reports (CAR). As of now, DHS no longer breaks down its unit bed counts in terms of specific populations groups. This information was in their CAR reports as recently as 2008 but is no longer provided. As a result, the estimates on the number of homeless veterans in New York City shelters vary widely depending on the source. Having accurate data from DHS would be useful in determining the scope of need. Lastly, we recommend asking Are you a Veteran? in DHSs yearly Homeless Outreach Population Estimate (HOPE) study. e. Fine/Tax exemptions. We ask the next administration to support exemptions for violations of the Smoke Free Air Act of 2002, Department of Health food safety inspections, Department of Building inspections, and FDNY inspections and replace them with education and outreach efforts to ensure safety and compliance within all veteran establishments (Veteran Service Organizations Posts & Buildings). We also recommend exempting these establishments from fees for Certificate of Occupancy or Letter of No Objection issued by the New York City Department of Buildings; Operating Certificate issued by NYC Department of Buildings and Food Handlers Permit issued by the Department of Health for certified Veteran Service Organizations (VSO). f. Buy-Back. Support passage in the State Legislature of the Veterans Buy Back bill (currently A.6974 & S4714) for all veterans who honorably served, regardless of whether they served in war, conflict or peacetime. g. SNAP program. In November of 2011, The Food Bank of New York report, From the Front Lines to the Bread Lines: Food Poverty Among Veterans, showed that 25 percent of all households with a military veteran in New York City are experiencing difficulty affording food. This special report revealed that veteran households are making a range of sacrifices in order to make ends meet. That more than 1 in 10 are unable to buy food because of rent or utilities; with many more reducing the quantity and quality of food they are purchasing. Further, the data from the Food Bank showed that more than one third of veteran households would not be able to afford food for their families within three months of losing their household income. Therefore, we recommend the next Mayor support expediting SNAP applications for veterans and their family members.

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