By Sarina Trangle
City Councilman Eric Ulrich (R-Ozone Park) wants to replace the branch of the mayor’s office charged with assisting veterans with an autonomous department.
Ulrich introduced April 29 a bill that would establish a city Department of Veterans Affairs along with three resolutions advocating for state and federal legislation the councilman said would benefit those who served in the military.
“I believe that there should be a Department of Veterans Affairs to No. 1, give veterans the standing and gravitas that they deserve,” said Ulrich, chairman of the Committee on Veterans. “And No. 2, to make it easier for me and my colleagues to secure grants and funding for local veterans groups.”
The councilman said the mayor’s Office of Veterans Affairs’ $400,000 budget does not include enough financing to adequately assist its target constituents.
He would like to replace MOVA with a department spearheaded by a commissioner overseeing an $800,000 or larger annual budget. The department would offer educational training and employment services, health, medical and rehabilitation assistance and implement federal, state and local initiatives that extend privileges to veterans or their families, according to the bill.
A board comprised of nine veterans — five appointed by the mayor and four selected by the Council speaker — would advise the department.
Ulrich emphasized that under the current configuration lawmakers who want to direct discretionary funding to American Legion halls, Veterans of Foreign War outposts and other veterans groups must go through the city Department of Youth and Community Development.
He said the agency supervises so many initiatives and client types that requests related to veterans get “lost in the middle.”
“New York City has over 250,000 veterans …. We have more veterans than some states,” Ulrich said, emphasizing that he anticipated the bill garnering support from both sides of the aisle. “There’s no Democratic or Republican way of helping veterans. There’s a right way and a wrong way.”
Mayor Bill de Blasio’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A fact sheet summarizing the Office of Veterans Affairs’ 2013 accomplishments notes that the organization helped 1,206 clients. Of those, 50 veterans requested job search assistance; 134 sought support with rent, housing, eviction or homelessness; and 256 received burial aid.
Ulrich’s companion resolutions support state bills giving mentally disabled veterans priority for licenses to sell merchandise on the sidewalk and offering state employees credit in the public retirement system for military service completed during times of peace.
His third resolution urges Congress to pass legislation that would grant the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs more authority in removing senior employees for poor performance.
Reach reporter Sarina Trangle at 718-260-4546 or by e-mail at strangle@cnglocal.com.
