Vets protest VA land deal

Veterans of more than 60 years of American wartime involvement gathered in front of the Veterans’ Administration (VA) facility in St. Albans on Saturday, March 29 to protest plans to open nearly half of the land for residential development as part of a modernization scheme.
The demonstration, organized by a group called “Veterans Coalition for Equitable Treatment,” drew vets from all over Queens and surrounding counties to the front gate of the VA campus at Linden Boulevard and 179th Street.
The objectionable proposal would lease 25 of the 55-acre campus to a developer - who is due to be announced in May - for as long as 75 years. About 4,000 units of housing would be built, with an unspecified “percentage to be affordable,” according to several leaders, including Marvin Jeffcoat, a spokesperson for the organizers of the demonstration. “I object to the dubious manner [in which] they [the VA] are concealing things from the public,” he said.
Veterans groups are demanding that the facility, which is slated for modernization, provide “emergency room and complete treatment facilities,” primary and extended care facilities for female veterans and expanded domiciliary for our homeless brothers,” according to Steven Epps, a Vietnam-era member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and a spokesperson for the group.
“I can only see a doctor once every six months,” complained Floyd, a Vietnam vet who stood by, with his cane hanging off his afflicted left arm. “And they want to let a private developer make money building apartments, while my homeless brothers are out in the cold,” he said.
At the heart of the matter is a program in the federal Department of Veterans’ Affairs, called the Capital Asset Realignment for Enhanced Services (CARES).
According to the Department, “CARES addresses the appropriate clinical role of small facilities, vacant space, the potential for enhanced use leases and the consolidation of services and campuses.”
“It’s a shame,” said Ruben Wills, founder of a group called New Yorkers 4 Life. “There are more than 200,000 vets in Queens and Nassau, and 98,000 in Brooklyn and the only real VA hospital is at Fort Hamilton - way down in Brooklyn, under the Verrazano Bridge,” he said.
A spokesperson for state Senator Serphin Maltese, himself a Korean War vet, unable to attend on account of budget negotiations in Albany, delivered his apologies and endorsement of the demands for veterans’ services.
“The VA should use the property to the fullest extent possible for former members of our armed services,” Maltese’s statement read, pointing out that “There are clear, identifiable needs… which should be met before private developers are given enhanced-use lease options.”
Protestors also say that the “CAMS score,” or Capital Asset Management System - essentially, the report card for potential developers - is being “hidden” from them.
They object to sketchy information about the plan, and cast doubt about whether 4,000 units of housing can be built without detriment to the neighborhood.
“Look around - mass transit is a joke around here,” interjected one vet. “Where are the schools and infrastructure for 4,000 more apartments?” asked another.
Even more insulting to those at the facility is the fact that the replacement center, at 221 beds, has 10 fewer than the existing one.
“They just want to stuff us into a corner and let us die,” came a voice from within the crowd.