Homeless Veterans Force Their Way Into the Conversation

Timothy Pena • June 21, 2026

*Disclaimer: Some content in this article was generated with the assistance of artificial intelligence.

Years of Complaints About Borden Avenue Finally Reach New York City's Veteran Leadership

NEW YORK - For years, Navy Veteran Timothy Pena has warned that conditions at the Borden Avenue Veterans Residence in Long Island City were unsustainable. After spending five months in the federally funded Grant and Per Diem (GPD) program in 2022, the service-connected veteran repeatedly raised concerns about violence, open drug activity, deteriorating living conditions, and what he viewed as the failure of New York City's only VA transitional housing program to provide the safe and supportive environment envisioned by federal regulations.


Homeless Veterans Missing From the Report


According to the New York City Veterans Advisory Board's 2025 Annual Report, the Board exists to serve as a link between City Hall, the Department of Veterans' Services (DVS), and the veteran community while providing veterans with a voice to express their concerns.

Yet despite housing being one of the Board's charter priorities, the sixteen-page report contained no section dedicated to homeless veterans and no major recommendations addressing homelessness. Instead, much of the report focused on veteran-owned businesses, student veterans, street vendors, and civic engagement.


Pena contends that the omission was part of a larger pattern in which veterans experiencing homelessness were intentionally excluded from discussions affecting them.

A Familiar Narrative


Pena has long maintained that the concerns of homeless veterans have been marginalized by both the Department of Veterans' Services and the New York City Council Committee on Veterans.


According to Pena, veterans experiencing homelessness were frequently placed at the end of hearing schedules, allowing council members to leave before hearing testimony from those most directly impacted by the issues. He further states that critical meetings with the Department of Veterans' Services were canceled and that repeated requests for engagement went unanswered.


Commissioner Yesenia Mata previously informed the Committee on Veterans that she had participated in approximately one hundred meetings and roundtables with veterans throughout New York City. Pena contends that none of those meetings included homeless veterans or advocates representing veterans experiencing homelessness and that the Department misrepresented its commitment to listening to veterans while overlooking the population most dependent upon the city's housing system.


The "Cadillac of Shelters"


Pena's criticism of city leadership predates the April 2026 Veterans Advisory Board meeting.


During a previous Veterans Advisory Board meeting, former DVS Housing Director Llamar Wheeler described Borden Avenue as the "Cadillac of shelters." The comments came during a discussion concerning conditions inside the facility and reflected what Pena describes as a disconnect between agency leadership and the experiences of residents.


According to Pena, numerous Veterans Advisory Board members minimized complaints raised by veterans residing at Borden Avenue and downplayed concerns involving violence, drug activity, and deteriorating conditions. Rather than treating the allegations as warning signs requiring immediate attention, Pena argues that several members appeared more interested in defending the status quo than listening to veterans with firsthand experience.


For Pena, the comments symbolized a broader culture in which officials and advisory board members spoke about homeless veterans rather than with them.

Borden Avenue Finally Takes Center Stage


The issue came to a head during the April 29, 2026, Queens meeting of the Veterans Advisory Board.


According to the official minutes, Pena raised concerns regarding violence, drug activity, police activity, empty beds, and overall living conditions at Borden Avenue. Questions were also raised concerning oversight, transparency, and the closure of recreational facilities.


The minutes indicate that several concerns raised during the meeting would be pursued by the Board, including reports of forty to fifty vacant cubicles, the closure of the basketball court, and issues involving the facility kitchen.


The minutes further note that Commissioner Mata intended to hold a roundtable concerning homeless veterans and Borden Avenue before the next Veterans Advisory Board meeting.


Questions About Outreach


Pena states that after speaking with veterans currently residing at Borden Avenue, he has found no indication that residents have been informed of any planned visit or roundtable involving Commissioner Mata.


He further notes that DVS has made no effort to include him in discussions concerning homeless veterans despite his years of advocacy and firsthand experience living within the program.


Pena contends that any future visit by the Commissioner would amount to a political effort designed to control the narrative surrounding DVS's role in what he describes as years of neglect and the silencing of abused veterans while continuing to deny vulnerable veterans both a meaningful voice and access to critical VA resources.

Pressure Forces Recognition


Pena believes it was public pressure, rather than proactive leadership, that finally forced the Department of Veterans' Services and the Veterans Advisory Board to acknowledge the concerns of homeless veterans.


After years of warnings, canceled meetings, and what he describes as systematic exclusion, the April 29 meeting marked one of the first times that issues affecting veterans experiencing homelessness occupied a prominent place in Veterans Advisory Board discussions.


Whether that attention results in meaningful reform remains uncertain. What is clear, according to Pena, is that veterans experiencing homelessness can no longer be excluded from conversations concerning programs and policies that directly affect their lives.


Printable pdf (4 pages)

Timothy Pena is a service-connected disabled Navy veteran for PTSD and has written about his experiences with mental health, homelessness, and the judicial system. Pena initially visited NYC to collaborate on a documentary for veteran suicide but decided to stay after realizing he would rather be homeless in NYC than dead in Phoenix. He has been writing stories and blogs about his journey from “homeless to homeness” in the NYC Dept of Homeless Services system and possible corruption within DHS, Institute for Community Living, and Veterans Affairs Grant & Per Diem Transitional Program.