Borden Avenue Veterans' Shelter (NYC) Report 2026

Part 1: Introduction

Timothy Pena

Founder/Veterans Justice Project

September 2026

Purpose, Scope, Evidence, and Organization of the Borden Avenue Report 2026

Purpose and Scope

The Borden Report 2026 is an examination of the Borden Avenue Veterans’ Residence at 21-10 Borden Avenue, Long Island City, Queens, and the governmental and nonprofit systems responsible for its operation and oversight. The report concentrates on Borden Avenue's participation in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Grant and Per Diem Program, together with its operation by the Institute for Community Living under contract with the New York City Department of Homeless Services.

The report addresses the period covered by the available records rather than imposing a single date range across all subjects. Financial records, VA program information, emergency-call data, arrest records, governmental reports, correspondence, meeting materials, and other sources cover different periods. Dates are therefore identified within the relevant Parts when necessary to understand individual findings.

The report examines Borden Avenue within the larger system serving Veterans experiencing homelessness in New York City. That requires consideration of federal GPD requirements, municipal shelter administration, nonprofit operations, housing assistance, Veteran services, public safety, government expenditures, and oversight.

The Grant and Per Diem Program

The VA Grant and Per Diem Program provides transitional housing and supportive services for eligible Veterans experiencing homelessness. 38 C.F.R. Part 61 establishes the federal regulatory framework, supplemented by VA program guidance and individual grant requirements.

GPD supportive housing is transitional rather than permanent housing. VA operates several GPD models reflecting different Veteran populations and service requirements, including Service Intensive, Clinical Treatment, Low Demand, Bridge Housing, and Hospital to Housing.

Records reviewed for this report identify 154 authorized GPD beds at Borden Avenue and classify the beds as Service Intensive. Reported enrollment was 124 Veterans on June 1, 2024, 118 on July 1, 2024, and 107 on August 1, 2024.

These federal records provide an important basis for the Parts examining admissions, utilization, services, treatment approaches, permanent-housing outcomes, and federal funding.

Administration of Borden Avenue

Responsibility for Borden Avenue involves several organizations.

VA administers the federal GPD program, establishes program requirements, provides federal funding, and performs GPD monitoring and oversight. DHS administers the City's contractual relationship with ICL and performs municipal shelter and contract oversight. ICL operates Borden Avenue and provides services at the facility.

Other organizations examined in the report have more limited or specialized responsibilities. DVS assists Veterans with benefits, housing, advocacy, and other services. The Veterans Task Force provides an interagency coordination forum. The Veterans Advisory Board provides an advisory mechanism for Veteran issues, while the New York City Council Committee on Veterans performs legislative and budgetary oversight. Government audit and investigative bodies provide additional oversight within their respective jurisdictions.

The report evaluates each organization according to its documented responsibilities rather than attributing responsibility for the entire GPD or shelter system to any single entity.

Subjects Examined

Parts 2 through 7 establish the Veteran and federal-program context for the investigation. They address Veteran eligibility and transition from homelessness, women Veterans and Veteran families, vulnerable Veterans, federal GPD requirements, protection against exploitation, and Veteran participation in transitional programs.

Parts 8 through 11 concentrate more directly on Borden Avenue and ICL. They examine:

• Borden Avenue operations and conditions.
• GPD capacity and enrollment.
• Emergency calls, arrests, and public-safety records.
• Financial resources and program expenditures.
• ICL organizational finances.
• The Modified Therapeutic Community approach.
• Borden Avenue's Service Intensive GPD designation.
• Housing, transportation, food, security, and other transitional services.

Parts 12 through 17 examine municipal administration and governmental oversight, including DHS, DVS, the Veterans Task Force, Veterans Advisory Board, City Council Committee on Veterans, and other government oversight mechanisms.

Part 18 separately addresses the pending federal litigation concerning Pena, DHS, ICL, and individual defendants.

Part 19 presents the report's findings and recommendations. Part 20 consolidates the sources, references, and methodology. Part 21 presents the photographic and journalistic record, followed by an unnumbered Conclusion that returns to the report's central measure: the Veteran's transition from homelessness to stable permanent housing and greater independence.

Evidence Reviewed

The report draws upon records from multiple governmental and nongovernmental sources. The principal categories include VA regulations and GPD guidance, VA FOIA materials, DHS and other municipal records, ICL materials, organizational financial information, NYPD FOIL records, government audits, public meetings and testimony, correspondence, published research, journalism, photographs, surveys, and firsthand Veteran information.

The records do not all establish the same type of information. For example, NYPD emergency-call records document emergency activity but may not contain final incident outcomes. Arrest records document arrests and charges but do not establish convictions. Government audits establish findings within the scope of the audit conducted. Provider materials document information reported by the provider unless separately verified.

Part 20 describes these distinctions and the report's methodology in greater detail.

Public Safety Records

Public-safety information constitutes a substantial component of the evidentiary record. Part 9 analyzes approximately 1,365 emergency calls associated with 21-10 Borden Avenue between August 2024 and December 2025 and 82 arrest entries between September 2022 and December 2025.

The report uses these records to examine the frequency and categories of emergency activity, alleged offenses associated with the facility, available dispositions, and the relationship between external law-enforcement records and provider or governmental incident-reporting systems.

Detailed classifications, limitations, and findings concerning these records are reserved for Part 9. Recommendations arising from the records are presented in Part 19.

Financial Records

The financial sections distinguish between the overall finances of ICL and funding specifically associated with Borden Avenue. They also distinguish municipal DHS funding from federal GPD funding.

Available records identify substantial growth in ICL's organizational revenue and substantial municipal expenditures associated with Borden Avenue. Budget records identify expenditures for personnel, security, food, transportation, maintenance, and other operational categories.

The report examines those records in Parts 10, 17, and 19. It does not treat organizational revenue as unrestricted Borden Avenue funding or assume that the existence of multiple government funding sources establishes improper duplication.

Program Models and Comparative Material

Part 11 examines published research concerning the Modified Therapeutic Community model and compares the characteristics of that approach with VA's GPD transitional-housing structure. The analysis focuses on the populations for which MTC research was conducted, the characteristics of Service Intensive and Clinical Treatment GPD models, and the practices documented at Borden Avenue.

The report also uses material concerning MANA House in Phoenix as a limited comparative example of Veteran transitional housing. That material addresses peer participation, community involvement, resident responsibilities, employment preparation, transportation, and other program characteristics. MANA House is not treated as a regulatory standard applicable to Borden Avenue.

Government Oversight

The report examines oversight at the federal, municipal, legislative, advisory, and organizational levels. This includes the responsibilities of VA and DHS as well as the activities of DVS, the Veterans Task Force, Veterans Advisory Board, City Council Committee on Veterans, VA Office of Inspector General, NYC Department of Investigation, NYC Comptroller, and other entities appearing in the record.

The analysis considers documented complaints and concerns, agency communications, oversight reports, meetings, testimony, referrals, corrective actions where records are available, and matters for which the available record does not establish a final outcome.

Federal Litigation

Part 18 addresses Pena v. New York City Department of Homeless Services, et al., No. 26-CV-0176 (JMF). The litigation is included because it concerns advocacy regarding Borden Avenue, Veterans Task Force participation, and actions involving organizations and officials examined elsewhere in the report.

The allegations in the Second Amended Complaint are presented as litigation allegations. They are not used as independent proof of the operational, financial, or public-safety findings developed from other records.

Organization of the Report

The report is organized so that the federal program and Veteran populations are addressed before the detailed examination of Borden Avenue. It then proceeds from facility operations to public safety and finances, followed by municipal administration, Veteran-government bodies, broader oversight, litigation, and final findings.

The complete structure is:

• Parts 2–7: Veterans, access, vulnerability, GPD requirements, exploitation safeguards, and Veteran participation.
• Parts 8–11: Borden Avenue operations, public safety, ICL finances, and treatment/program models.
• Parts 12–17: DHS, DVS, Veterans Task Force, Veterans Advisory Board, City Council, and government oversight.
• Part 18: Federal litigation.
• Part 19: Findings and Recommendations.
• Part 20: Sources, References, and Methodology.
• Part 21: Photos and Articles.
• Conclusion: The Measure Is the Veteran's Transition.

The Executive Summary presents the principal findings and recommendations for readers seeking an overview. The Parts that follow provide the supporting analysis, records, limitations, and source material underlying those findings.