Committee on Veterans (2026)

New York City Council Committee on Veterans: Legislative Oversight, Accountability, and the Continuing Concerns at Borden Avenue Veterans' Residence

Key Findings

The New York City Council Committee on Veterans serves as the primary legislative oversight body responsible for reviewing programs, funding, policies, and services affecting veterans throughout New York City. This responsibility includes ensuring that city agencies and contracted providers deliver effective services and that taxpayer-funded programs achieve measurable outcomes.

For several years, concerns regarding the Borden Avenue Veterans' Residence (BAVR), New York City's only federally funded Veterans Affairs Grant and Per Diem (GPD) transitional housing program, were presented through testimony, correspondence, public meetings, and reports. These concerns included safety, emergency responses, access to VA resources, veteran-centered programming, privacy, and whether Borden Avenue was meeting the intended purpose of a transitional housing program.

The central issue identified was not whether concerns were raised, but whether those concerns resulted in documented review, corrective action, and measurable improvements.

Legislative Oversight and Responsibility

The Committee on Veterans provides an essential role in ensuring that veterans' issues receive attention within city government. Oversight involves more than conducting hearings or accepting testimony. Effective oversight requires examining agency performance, reviewing funding decisions, questioning program outcomes, and ensuring that identified problems are addressed.

This responsibility is especially important for homeless veterans because services are divided among multiple agencies and organizations, including the New York City Department of Veterans' Services (DVS), Department of Homeless Services (DHS), housing agencies, nonprofit contractors, and federal VA programs.

When responsibility is shared among multiple systems, veterans may face difficulties navigating services. Strong legislative oversight is necessary to determine whether those systems are working together effectively and whether veterans receive the support promised through publicly funded programs.

Repeated Concerns Regarding Borden Avenue

The concerns presented regarding Borden Avenue were not isolated complaints. They represented repeated warnings regarding New York City's only federally funded VA transitional housing program.

Veterans reported concerns involving violence, emergency incidents, drug activity, limited privacy, barriers accessing VA healthcare, and insufficient transitional services. Concerns were also raised that Borden Avenue's operation as a Mental Illness/Chemical Abuse (MICA) shelter created challenges when combined with the recovery-focused mission of the VA Grant and Per Diem Program.

The GPD program was created to provide more than temporary shelter. Its purpose is to help veterans move from homelessness into permanent stability through:

• Healthcare coordination
• Case management
• Employment preparation
• Independent living skills
• Connection to benefits
• Permanent housing support

The question presented to city leadership was whether New York City was operating a transitional recovery program for veterans or a shelter program that primarily housed veterans.

Lack of Corrective Action Tracking

Veterans repeatedly used available public channels to identify concerns. Testimony, letters, meetings, and reports documented ongoing issues involving conditions at Borden Avenue and the need for greater accountability.

The concern identified was not a lack of opportunities to speak. The concern was whether testimony produced measurable responses.

Effective oversight requires a documented process:

Concern → Review → Investigation → Corrective Plan → Follow-Up → Measured Outcome

Without this structure, the same issues may continue appearing at future hearings without a clear record showing:

• Who accepted responsibility
• What corrective action was required
• When changes occurred
• Whether conditions improved

Public accountability depends on the ability to measure progress, not simply document concerns.

Impact on Veteran Trust

The effectiveness of veteran services depends heavily on trust. Veterans experiencing homelessness often face significant barriers, including PTSD, disabilities, medical conditions, incarceration history, and previous negative experiences with government systems.

When veterans come forward to report problems, the response from oversight agencies influences whether others will seek assistance. A system designed to serve veterans must demonstrate that concerns result in evaluation and action.

Veterans are more likely to participate in services when they believe those services provide safety, dignity, privacy, and meaningful support.

Conclusion

The New York City Council Committee on Veterans remains a critical link between veterans and the government systems created to serve them. The Committee provides a public platform where veterans can identify problems, share experiences, and recommend improvements.

The ongoing concerns regarding Borden Avenue demonstrate that effective oversight requires more than listening. It requires transforming testimony into investigation, findings into corrective action, and public discussions into measurable improvements.

For years, veterans raised concerns regarding New York City's only federally funded VA Grant and Per Diem transitional housing program. Those concerns involved not only shelter conditions, but broader questions regarding public spending, veteran recovery, and whether services were achieving their intended mission.

The ultimate measure of oversight is not the number of hearings conducted or reports received. It is whether identified problems are corrected and whether veterans receive the resources, stability, and support necessary to successfully transition from homelessness into permanent housing.