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ACTIVISM: NY VETS LOBBY AND START
GRASS-ROOTS PUSH
TO SAVE MONTROSE VA -- "We need a place for these
guys, and
with today's economy, it's not the right time for
development."
The "Sacred Grove" on the VA campus,
Montrose, New York.
Here is an object lesson for all vets:
Never give up! Organize! And, fight!
The VA wants to sell-off valuable land at the
campus at Montrose, NY. And, the vets are fighting. They are a
proud example to us all.
For background on the situation at the Montrose
VA, click here...
http://www.yourvabenefits.org/ses
search.php?q=montrose&op=and
Story here...
http://lohud.com/article/20
090226/NEWS01/902260403/-1/newsfront
Story below:
Your comments accepted at bottom of
page.
Share story/email link.
-------------------------
New lobbying, grass-roots push aims to slow
development at Montrose VA site
By Robert Marchant
The Journal News
Town leaders and local veterans are turning to grass-roots activism and
personal lobbying to slow down or block plans for residential development
at the Veterans Affairs' Montrose campus.
A local veterans leader spent a week on Capitol Hill this month, speaking
to congressional representatives and staffers, trying to gain political
support to stop long-term plans to build private housing at the 184-acre
Franklin D. Roosevelt campus of the VA Hudson Valley Healthcare System.
Cortlandt Supervisor Linda Puglisi, meanwhile, organized an effort to send
300 letters from residents and veterans in opposition to the VA's plan to
build private housing at the site and transfer medical and support
services from Montrose to other VA sites. Puglisi is also calling for a
one-year moratorium on the development process under the new leadership of
the secretary of Veterans Affairs, Gen. Eric Shinseki.
The VA opened up the land to real estate development last year under a
long-term lease agreement that would shrink the veterans service facility
to 12 acres on the sprawling riverside campus.
William Nazario, a Vietnam veteran from Cortlandt, went from office to
office in Washington this month, spelling out veterans' concerns for the
Montrose site and building political momentum to modify development plans
there.
"It's a vital facility," Nazario said he told congressional lawmakers and
staffers. Plans to downsize the veterans' operation had not taken into
account the large number of wounded servicemen and women coming back from
Afghanistan and Iraq, Nazario said. "We need a place for these guys, and
with today's economy, it's not the right time for development. The beauty
of it, too, is that it can create jobs - it would be a benefit to the
region," said Nazario, who volunteers at the Montrose campus.
click for more information -- a disabled veteran
owned business
Puglisi, the town supervisor, is requesting a one-year moratorium on any
new development schemes. The VA solicited concept plans from large-scale
builders earlier in the winter and is now considering the bids. Puglisi
wants the new secretary to call a timeout.
"There's a brand-new secretary in Washington. We'd like him to delay the
decision on the lease, take a step back, listen to our position," Puglisi
said. While the town has no legal capacity to enact a moratorium on
development, the supervisor said, she hoped "the
 power
of persuasion and our being on the right side of the issue" would be a
factor.
A VA spokeswoman, Laurie Tranter, had no immediate comment this week. In
the past, VA representatives have emphasized that residential development
at Montrose would offer benefits for veterans, that revenue from the site
would contribute to veteran programs, and that services would be
maintained at other locations.
The town administration is also seeking to ensure that the Department of
Veterans Affairs abides by environmental regulations and goes through a
significant review process before allowing any development at the veterans
facility. That legal action is still pending in federal court.
Reach Robert Marchant at 914-666-6578.
-------------------------
posted by Larry Scott
Founder and Editor
VA Watchdog dot Org
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