Councilman seeks to create new department to help city war heroes
Councilman Eric Ulrich announced a food drive for veterans in November, one of the events he’s hosted as chairman of the Committee on Veterans.
Inside Councilman Eric Ulrich’s (R-Ozone Park) district office desk are three medals that his great-grandfather earned for his service in World War II. On top of the desk stands a small wooden paperweight that says “Support Our Troops.”
One of the first people to greet you when you walk into his office is Redmond Haskins, the councilman’s director of communications and a certified veterans service officer, who is authorized to assist veterans with claims for certain benefits.
Although it is evident in and around his office, Ulrich’s commitment to former service members spreads far beyond his district.
For close to a year he has served as chairman of the council’s Committee on Veterans, a position he said he would not trade for anything.
“I find great meaning and purpose in helping veterans,” he said.
And according to Ulrich, veterans and their families need all the help the city can provide.
“Veterans need jobs, veterans need housing, comprehensive healthcare and coverage,” he said.
Some veterans said that while work is still needed to address these needs, Ulrich has worked hard to reach out to the community.
Ryan Graham, the Queens County commander for the Veterans of Foreign Wars and an Ozone Park resident, added that Ulrich has reached out to many veterans service organizations, something that was not done by previous chairmen.
“He’s included VSOs, which is very important,” Graham said. “He’s actually reached out to all the VSOs that I know of and asked what the issues are and what can I do to help.”
Desert Storm veteran Marvin Jeffcoat praised Ulrich for having Haskins in his office to help constituents with working with the VA for benefits — something he said is not seen throughout the city.
“That was a good thing, I applaud him for that,” said Jeffcoat, of Woodside. “It shows he’s aware of what veterans need.”
John Rowan, the national president of Vietnam Veterans of America, said the councilman “is very active and very aggressive in pushing issues.”
“Which is more than some of his predecessors,” Rowan added. “There were no real ideas coming out of them. No real push for anything. But Ulrich is really pushing on a lot of major issues.”
In the past 12 months, Ulrich has held 11 hearings of the Veterans Committee and has gotten close to a dozen resolutions calling on the state Legislature and Congress to approve legislation ranging from suicide prevention to providing public housing for former service members.
But to veterans, and Ulrich, the most important thing the committee has done is propose the idea of a separate city agency that would oversee veterans services.
“Giving veterans the respect and recognition that they deserve starts with creating a Department of Veterans Services,” Ulrich said. “And that’s something we really want to do.”
A hearing on possible legislation to create the agency was held by the committee in September. Ulrich says he will bring the proposal to the forefront to the mayor soon.
“We should make this a priority,” he said.
The Committee on Veterans works in conjunction with the Mayor’s Office of Veterans Affairs, which only receives $500,000 out of the city’s $73 billion budget.
“We don’t spend enough money on veterans,” Ulrich said. “We spend too much money on a lot of other things that I would say is not very fiscally responsible.”
Queens veterans praised the idea of a seperate veterans department.
“We need to get away from the mayor’s office,” Graham said.
“I think it would be a great idea to the extent that it would be actionable,” Jeffcoat said. “You need an actionable agency that can streamline veterans needs.”
But a lack of funding has not stopped Ulrich from providing services to city veterans.
In the past few months, he’s held a veterans town hall, a Council-wide food drive and a career fair at Russo’s on The Bay in Howard Beach. He hopes to make them all annual events.
Ulrich also said he has the support of his fellow Councilmembers.
“Veterans is not a partisan issue,” he said. “Veterans is not a Democrat or Republican issue. Helping veterans really is an American issue.”
Ulrich also praised the other committee members, who include fellow Queens Councilman Paul Vallone (D-Bayside).
“They’re proposing their own ideas, asking great questions,” Ulrich said. “They have been great.”
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