Queens Borough President Donovan Richards on Oct. 13 announced a partnership with the New York State Division of Veterans’ Services that would enable a veterans benefits advisor to work on-site at Queens Borough Hall every Monday beginning Oct. 17.
The veterans benefits advisor normally operates out of the St. Albans VA Medical Center. Now, over the next four months, the advisor will be working at Queens Borough Hall every Monday (excluding holidays) from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. As a result, the New York State Division of Veterans’ Services will better be able to offer a centralized, easy-to-reach location for Queens veterans to apply for and inquire about veterans’ benefits. The advisor will also complement the services that the New York City Department of Veterans’ Services’ Veteran Resource Center satellite office has provided at Borough Hall since 2016.
“The addition of the veterans benefits advisor will make Queens Borough Hall an even more comprehensive and useful one-stop shop for veterans looking for answers to their benefit questions,” Richards said. “The advisor will work well with the existing Veteran Resource Center satellite office and will make life simpler for our veterans, who will have easier access to the benefits and services that their valiant service has entitled them to. I’m proud to host both the City DVS and State DVS here in the People’s House, and I invite all of our borough’s veterans to visit Borough Hall to get the information and assistance they deserve.”
Established to serve the nearly 42,000 military veterans in Queens, the satellite office offers information and one-on-one consultations for veterans seeking information about the benefits and services available to them. The office reopened in April 2022 after being closed for more than two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Services are available Mondays and Thursdays (excluding holidays) from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
While walk-ins will be welcome, appointments can also be made by calling 718-526-1000 ext. 2217.
The New York State Division of Veterans’ Services advisor will work with the satellite office to coordinate city and state action regarding veterans benefits and services. This would likely reduce bureaucratic red tape and thus make it easier to provide benefits and services to the veterans who seek them.
The satellite office at Borough Hall is open to walk-in visitors and to those who make appointments in advance. To schedule appointments with this office, people can call 646-499-0098.
“We are honored to continue our work with the New York City Department of Veterans Services to further serve Queens Veterans, Service members, and their families,” New York State Division of Veterans’ Services Director Viviana DeCohen said. “This new collaboration with the Borough President’s Office will expand our agency’s ability to ensure those we serve are accessing all of the benefits they earned from their military service.”
Queens Borough Hall is accessible by subway through the E or F trains to the Union Turnpike-Kew Gardens station. It is also served by several bus lines, including the Q60, Q46, Q10 and Q37 lines.
