Assemblyman William Colton (D – Gravesend, Bensonhurst, Bath Beach, and Dyker Heights) said that the Federal Department of Veterans Affairs released a proposal Monday, March 14^th, 2022 to close two of the VA hospitals in NYC. 

“After the clear report that both Brooklyn VA which is known as the Brooklyn Campus of the NY Harbor Healthcare System and the Manhattan VA Hospital Campus at 423 East 23^rd Street will close and merge their services into other facilities dozens of veterans gathered to demand that the health care institutions be saved. Our veterans put their lives and their health on the line to keep America free and great and we owe them a debt of gratitude to provide for their health needs,” Colton stated.

 “Trying to save money by forcing our Veterans, that many of them are seniors to travel distances must not be permitted. Shutting down the Brooklyn or Manhattan VA Hospitals would put an undeserved burden and severe harm on the thousands of Veterans who live in or near both areas and who depend on these facilities as their main source of health care. Our Veterans deserve better. Therefore, I call upon the US Department of Veterans Affairs to reject any such plans to merge, reduce health services, or to close VA Hospitals in NY,” Colton demands.