Queens lawmaker wants federal government not to charge vets for trips to national parks

BY WILLIAM HARRIS

In an attempt to help Queens’ veterans, a local lawmaker wants the City Council to press Congress on legislation that would make admission to national parks free for all veterans.

The resolution proposed by City Councilman Eric Ulrich on Jan. 31 aims to call for passage of The Wounded Veterans Recreation Act of 2017, which is under consideration on Capitol Hill.

Should the act become law, veterans across the country would be able to enter National Parks Service facilities for free; this includes the vast 27,000 acres of Gateway National Recreational Area, which includes part of Ulrich’s City Council district.

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Gateway is comprised of the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, Fort Tilden, Riis Park in Queens, Floyd Bennett Field, and Canarsie Pier in Brooklyn. Staten Island’s Great Kills Park, Miller Field and Fort Wadsworth.

Ulrich has worked for veterans before. In 2016, he and the New York City Council helped open a satellite office of the Department of Veterans Services in Queens. This gave veterans a shorter of distance of travel, instead of venturing into Manhattan.

In support of the resolution, Ulrich stated, “I urge my colleagues in the City Council to support this legislation and call on our nation’s leaders to join me in my fight for our veterans.”