Congressman Gregory W. Meeks Amendment to H.R. 2055 (St. Albans Veterans Campus) Passes on House Floor

The Military Construction and Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2012 passed in the House of Representatives today. Included in the bill was Congressman Meeks amendment to stop the Enhanced Use Lease Process (EUL) for the St. Albans VA in the Sixth Congressional District of New York.

“The passing of this legislation with the inclusion of my bipartisan amendment is a big win for veterans in my district and veterans across Metropolitan New York. This amendment precludes the leasing of any government land at the St. Albans Veterans campus to a private developer. By having the amendment included in this bill it will prevent the fabric of my community from being destroyed by the creation of high-density residential and retail developments. This amendment brings home the point that this EUL does not meet the needs of veterans and therefore should be stopped immediately,” stated Congressman Meeks.

In addition to the hiring of a private developer for veteran owned land, this EUL process also does not plan for the inclusion of construction of a full service hospital based on a study conducted in 2004 that supposedly showed the decline of veterans in my district, but didn’t take into account the returning Iraq and Afghanistan veterans and their needs. Veterans in the vicinity have adamantly expressed the need for a full service hospital, but the VA has chosen to ignore their wishes.

Congressman Meeks added, “The nearly 400,000 veterans in the vicinity of my district deserve to have their medical needs met with the inclusion of a full service hospital. To not take into account their needs is a disservice to our brave men and women in uniform.”

This bill will now go to the Senate for their consideration the matter and then, upon its passing, will go to the President for signature.

Congressman Gregory W. Meeks Introduces St. Albans Veterans Care Act - Action Needed NOW..!

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Congressman Gregory W. Meeks (NY-6) introduced H.R. 1799, The St. Albans Veterans Care Act, to stop the Enhanced Use Lease Process (EUL) for the St. Albans VA in the Sixth Congressional District of New York on May 6, 2011. Additionally, Congressman Meeks will be offering an amendment to H.R. 2005, the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2012.

This bill addresses the concerns of the current EUL process that has been designed by the Department of Veterans Affairs for the St. Albans VA in the Sixth Congressional District. This process is one that is highly unfavorable to veterans due to the VA’s hiring of a private developer to develop on federal property, a proposal veterans in both communities are strongly against.

The CARES (Capital Asset Realignment for Enhanced Services) process began in May 2005, followed by the Enhanced Use Lease (EUL) process in 2006, and release of the RFP in 2007 for the St. Albans Campus. Under the VA’s EUL, the present St. Albans facility would be modernized with funds gained by leasing 25 acres of the property for private development.

Additionally, this bill also addresses the VA’s plan for not including the construction of a full service hospital, which veterans in the vicinity have adamantly expressed the need for. By not including a full service hospital, veterans from Queens and Long Island will have to travel more than an hour to the nearest full service veteran’s hospital. This decision by the VA was based on a study conducted in 2004 that did not take into account returning Iraq and Afghanistan veterans and their needs.

“Veterans in my district and across Metropolitan New York, many of whom are currently returning from brave service in Iraq and Afghanistan, deserve a full service Veterans Affairs hospital to support their medical needs. The redevelopment plan promulgated by the Department of Veterans Affairs sadly neglects the views of these courageous men and women, instead leasing government property for private development. Therefore, in representing their views, I introduced this bill to immediately stop the EUL process and prevent the destruction to the fabric of my community that a private developer would cause,” stated Congressman Meeks.

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ACTION NEEDED NOW..!

 

We need your help today!!  The legislation to terminate the EUL(privatization) for St. Albans VA will be voted on the floor of Congress this Monday.  We need everyone to call the Representatives listed below on Monday 13th and urge them to sign on to the Bill and vote in support of this legislation.

We are asking you to call the following N.Y.S. Representative's offices(these representatives had not signed on to this bill when it was put before them.). Please let the House Representative know that:

The New York State Veterans Community is requesting your support of HR Bill 1799 which will be presented for a vote on Monday June 13^th 2011.  Please vote YES to this very important piece of legislation.

Representative           District#                      Washington#
Rep Nan Hayworth      (845) 206-4600           (202) 225-5441
Rep Paul Tonko            (518) 843-3400            (202) 225-5076
Rep Maurice Hinchey  (607) 273-1388            (202) 225-6335
Rep Chris Gibson         (518) 610-8133             (202) 225-5614
Rep Bill Owens            (315) 782-3150            (202) 225-4611
Rep Richard Hanna      (315) 252-6700           (202) 225-3665
Ann Marie Buerkle      (585) 336-7291           (202) 225-3701
Kathy Hochul               (716) 634-2324           (202) 225-5265
Brian Higgins               (716) 852-3501           (202) 225-3306
Louise Slaughter         (716) 853-5813           (202) 225-3615
Tom Reed                    (585) 218-0040          (202) 225-3161
 
There is strength in numbers- let us come together as a community and get this bill passed!!!!

Longtime Community Board 12 Head Adjoa Gzifa Gets the Boot by Clare Trapasso - NY Daily News

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The controversial head of a southeast Queens community board has been tossed from her post by a local councilman.

Adjoa Gzifa, 64, of Jamaica, speculated that City Councilman Leroy Comrie (D-St. Albans) decided to end her 16-year run on Community Board 12 due to disagreements on various board issues.

Comrie declined to comment on why she was booted. "I'm not airing that in the paper," he said.

Gzifa, who served as the chairwoman of the board for three years, made headlines when she refused to support renaming a Jamaica street after slain police officer John Scarangella. The board shot down the renaming, which the Council then overrode.

She was also one of only two board members who voted against renaming a swath of Liverpool St. after Sean Bell, a bridegroom killed in a hail of police bullets.

"It stinks," Gzifa said of not being reappointed to the board. "I believe I served my community well. The fact that [Comrie and I] can't agree to disagree is disturbing to me."

Gzifa was quick to point out that she was reelected as chairwoman by her peers in December.

She found out about Comrie's decision on April 8, she said, a day after Community Board 12 District Manager Yvonne Reddick was involved in a car accident. Reddick is recuperating from non-life threatening injuries at Jamaica Hospital.

Jacqueline Boyce, the interim chair, said Gzifa will be missed.

"I'm saddened by the fact that she was not reassigned to the community board," Boyce said. "She proved to be a good leader and a good organizer."

But Gzifa had her detractors.

Valerie Bell, 55, the mother of Sean Bell, said the board could benefit from more sympathetic leadership.

"I know you can't name a street after everyone who's done something in the community," she said. "But it's time to have a heart for these things."

Board members are volunteers who can influence local projects and city budgets. Half of the Queens members are appointed by Council members, while the others are picked by the Borough President.

Gzifa, who is the director of the Workforce Education Center at LaGuardia Community College, said she doesn't plan to fight Comrie's decision.

"Just because I'm not on the board doesn't mean I'm going to shut up," she said. "I'm going to continue to speak out against everything that's ill in our community."