Department of Veterans Services defends record, outlines VetConnect rollout and requests resources after council report card

The New York City Department of Veterans Services defended its work and asked for more resources at a City Council hearing on the Speaker's inaugural "state of the city" report card for the agency, while veterans and advocates pressed elected officials for clearer outreach, stronger enforcement for veteran vendors and faster delivery of promised digital tools.

At the hearing the commissioner of the Department of Veterans Services, speaking at the witness table, framed the agency's response around four themes: resource allocation, expectation management, penetration (outreach), and smart growth. The commissioner said the department must "reverse engineer an environment" that meets veterans' needs, and acknowledged the agency's limited budget and staffing while stressing ongoing work to expand services.

Why it matters: The report card critique and the public testimony that followed focused attention on how the city's smallest agency for veterans turns limited funds into services for a diverse veteran population. The hearing laid out near-term operational constraints ' including procurement delays ' that officials say are holding up a redesigned digital referral platform and disbursal of state-funded Dwyer program grants.

The agency said it responded to the report with four priorities. On resources, officials emphasized statutory limits: the department operates under chapter 75 of the New York City Charter and within the city budget the agency receives. On outreach and data, the commissioner said a new VetConnect NYC portal will go live on July 1, 2025, and that the rollout and related contract work were delayed by issues with Passport, the city's contracting platform. He also said the department is dispersing Dwyer funds through a grant process that conforms to the city's Procurement Policy Board rules and that 31 local Dwyer projects are in process. "We can always do more with more," the commissioner said, adding that the department seeks to "punch above our weight class" by leveraging partners.

Officials defended the department's documented outcomes while acknowledging gaps the report flagged. The agency provided statistics during testimony: it said DVS has housed 1,447 veterans since the department's inception; that the homeless veteran count fell from 4,677 (February 2011) to 624 (February 2024); and that the percentage of veterans with service-connected disability ratings is 31.2 percent nationally, 21.6 percent in New York State and 20.1 percent in New York City. The commissioner also cited program outputs: Mission Vet Check, a buddy-check calling program, makes roughly 16,000 calls per year and generates about 2,000 referrals annually.

On data and self-identification, agency officials said low rates of self-identification among veterans limit outreach: they cited federal estimates that roughly 24.1 percent of New York City veterans self-identify. The commissioner told the council the agency has signed data-sharing agreements and plans to share disaggregated veteran contact information with council members, borough offices, community boards and others to boost outreach ahead of Memorial Day and Fleet Week. He urged the council to include the Local Law 37 veteran-identification questions on constituent intake forms and to require nonprofits funded by the council that deliver veteran programming to coordinate with DVS.

Public advocates and veterans offered starkly different assessments. Amy Hoser Weber, director of civil practice at the Veterans Advocacy Project, told the committee that DVS had too few direct-service staff and urged the council to expand the department's budget so caseworkers can focus on discrete tasks such as claims assistance. "The direct services provided to veterans and their families is at the heart of the agency's mandate," Hoser Weber said.

Several veteran vendors and advocacy group representatives said DVS and other city agencies are not protecting veterans who street-vend. Armando Crisci, a former American Legion post commander and founder of Put Veterans First, said veterans who vend face "injustices and abuse" by city agencies and the police and urged DVS to prioritize outreach and a voice for veteran vendors. Disabled vendor leaders said only a small portion of veteran vendors remain active and that enforcement and licensing problems persist in parts of the city such as Times Square.

Other advocates echoed concerns about capacity and transparency. Joe Bello, an advocate who has monitored DVS for years, said the report corroborated community observations that the agency "is failing to meet the needs of veterans and their families," and criticized turnover and unmet reporting obligations. Several speakers and Council members called the department's overall grade of C in the report card too low, while others said it should be lower; the commissioner argued a B would better reflect recent growth in services and digital engagement.

On implementation plans, the agency said it will: (1) launch the new VetConnect NYC portal July 1, 2025; (2) publish a short- and long-term plan describing its strategic priorities and how they dovetail with existing reporting and oversight mechanisms; and (3) post policies for data sharing on the DVS website. The commissioner said the agency will not perform a new, internal audit of all spending because the city already has overlapping oversight functions (Office of Management and Budget, Mayor's Office of Operations, Comptroller, Department of Investigation and City Council oversight).

Council response and next steps: Committee members pressed DVS on outreach to veterans who do not self-identify, the number of respondents used in the report card (which DVS contested as only 21 people gave qualitative feedback for the scorecard), the department's staffing and retention, and the need for a larger budget. Several council members said they would raise funding concerns with the mayor and with relevant oversight offices. The hearing closed with a call from multiple speakers for the council to push for increased staffing and funding so DVS can perform mail and phone outreach to veterans who lack reliable online access.

What wasn't decided: The hearing did not include formal votes or ordinance actions; several pieces of legislation were discussed but not voted on. Two council-introduced bills the commissioner mentioned ' Intro. 685 (to create a veteran leadership advisory program and codify a veteran business leadership association) and Intro. 686 (to add a DVS commissioner designee to the Street Vendor Advisory Board and expand speaker-appointed membership) ' remain matters for future committee consideration. The commissioner offered to work with the council on both bills.

The hearing captured a split between officials who defended the department's recent operational gains and community members who said city government is not doing enough, particularly for veteran vendors and veterans who do not self-identify. Agency leaders asked the council for time and procurement fixes to finish VetConnect and distribute Dwyer funds; advocates asked for immediate budgetary increases and clearer enforcement of veteran vendor rights.

Contact and resources: The department gave a contact phone number (212-416-5250), an email (connect@veterans.nyc.gov) and the online portal address (nyc.gov/vets). The agency also pointed to nyc.gov/vetconnect and nyc.gov/vetdwyer for program details.

Ending note: Witnesses on both sides urged the council to pair oversight with funding and to hold the administration accountable for the agency's budget so DVS can scale outreach and meet the needs identified in the report card and by veteran constituents.