City Council to vote on establishing permanent LGBTQ liaison within NYC Department of Veterans’ Services

The City Council on Nov. 12 will vote on legislation to establish a permanent LGBTQ liaison within the Department of Veterans' Services, a spokesperson for Speaker Julie Menin told Gay City News. The legislation to incorporate the LGBTQ liaison within the department, Int. 928, is carried by out gay Republican David M. Carr and co-sponsored by more than a dozen lawmakers, including LGBTQIA+ Caucus members Crystal Hudson of Brooklyn, Carl Wilson of Manhattan, and Lynn Schulman of Queens. The liaison would be responsible for reaching out to LGBTQ veterans, coordinating the Department of Veterans' Services assistance with upgrading discharges for those veterans, and connecting them with programs and services offered by the department and other agencies, according to the legislation. Coinciding with Labor Day, which is recognized on Nov. 11, the legislation to make the LGBTQ liaison a permanent part of the Department of Veterans' Services is one of multiple veteran-related bills the Council will consider on Nov. 12. Two other related bills are Int. 1051-A, which would exempt permanently disabled veterans' primary residences from taxation and special district charges, assessments, and special ad valorem levies; and Int. 488-A, which would require the Department of Housing Preservation and Development to produce an annual report on the number of veterans or their surviving spouses applying for Mitchell-Lama developments and the number of veterans selected for such residences. “New York City is home to as many as 200,000 veterans, whose selfless sacrifices have kept us safe, and who now deserve real support in our city,” Menin said in a written statement. “My father, Robert Jacobs, was a doctor at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where he treated wounded warriors and brave veterans. His sense of service inspired my own and taught me about the battles that veterans face after they return home. The City Council is commemorating this Veterans Day with tangible action, passing a package of legislation that will improve life for veterans across the five boroughs. Every veteran deserves to afford to stay in their home and to live with dignity in the city and country they fought to defend.” The Office of Mayor Zohran Mamdani did not respond on Nov. 10 when asked by Gay City News whether the mayor supports the legislation. The Department of Veterans' Services also did not respond to a request for comment for this story. “Years after the military rescinded its infamous ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy, there are still thousands of veterans who were unjustly denied honorable discharges due to their identity, and have yet to receive the benefits they earned,” Carr said in a written statement. “This legislation builds on a law passed by our predecessors that requires the city Department of Veterans’ Services to extend city benefits to these veterans by ensuring there is a dedicated liaison whose main mission would be to assist them with getting reviews of their status to upgrade their discharges and to connect them with the assistance they need. These patriots who served our country deserve nothing less.” The legislation comes against the backdrop of the Trump administration's ongoing efforts to ban transgender service members from the military, some of whom joined Equality New York, Out in National Security, Minority Veterans of America, and other groups at the LGBT Center in Manhattan in September to recognize the 15th anniversary of the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. Supporters of Int. 928 include SAGE, a national organization advocating for LGBTQ seniors. “SAGE applauds the New York City Council for advancing Intro 928-A... to create an LGBTQ+ Liaison within the Department of Veterans’ Services,” Lynn A. Faria, SAGE's CEO, said in a written statement. “Since launching SAGEVets in 2014, we have seen the need for dedicated support to help LGBTQ+ veterans access benefits, services, and community." LGBTQ issues surrounding veterans have come up at the City Council in the past, including in 2019 when a local organization, the NYC Veterans Alliance, criticized then-Councilmember Chaim Deutsch, who served as the chair of the Council's Veterans Committee at the time, as he faced allegations that he had made inappropriate homophobic comments. Deustch was later expelled from the City Council and served time in federal prison for tax evasion.