Unlawful Barriers to Entry
One of the most serious charges is that DHS and ICL required veterans to have a mental health or substance-use diagnosis to enroll in the GPD program. The lawsuit emphasizes that federal law does not require such a condition—eligibility is based solely on being a VA-eligible veteran experiencing homelessness. By imposing this barrier, the defendants allegedly excluded veterans who did not fit a “MICA profile,” denying them housing and services funded by the VA.
Retaliation and Conflict of Interest
The filing further accuses Fuller of silencing dissent. After plaintiff Timothy Pena, a member of the NYC Veterans Task Force, sent a private email to fellow members describing a veteran and his combat canine being “kicked out” of BAVR, transferred to another shelter, and forced to sleep on the floor while 4th of July fireworks were going off overhead, Fuller allegedly responded by drafting an unlawful “Code of Conduct” to muzzle him.
That email, Pena notes, came only after months of appeals to task force members for assistance went unanswered. Fuller, who had personally brought Pena onto the task force as co-chair, then used her authority to restrict his speech. The complaint describes this as retaliation, a violation of the First Amendment and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and a profound conflict of interest.
Broader Failures
The lawsuit also faults DHS and ICL for failing to provide community engagement opportunities, such as housing processing, workshops, and activities designed to help veterans reintegrate. These programs are required under federal guidelines but allegedly absent at BAVR.
Call for Accountability
The filing cites violations of federal statutes, the ADA, and constitutional protections, and calls the defendants’ actions systemic mismanagement and misuse of federal funds. It demands that New York City stop accepting federal dollars while placing veterans in unsafe conditions.
