5/04/2010: St. Albans Veterans Hospital Resolution

LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION urging the New York State Congressional delegation to direct the Veterans Administration to build a full service veterans hospital on the grounds of the St. Albans Veterans Facility, St. Albans, New York

WHEREAS, St. Albans Veterans Facility opened in 1943 as the St. Albans Naval Hospital; and

WHEREAS, It was turned over to the United States Veterans Adminis tration (VA) in 1974; currently, the VA is looking to modernize the St. Albans facility; and

WHEREAS, St. Albans is not a full service hospital, and veterans from Queens and Nassau County who need the services of a full service hospi tal must travel to the VA Hospital in Brooklyn, New York; and

WHEREAS, According to the 2000 census, there are over 200,000 veterans in Queens and Nassau County that would benefit from having a full service hospital in close proximity; and

WHEREAS, Veterans organizations in Queens, Nassau County and the surrounding areas are united in the view that only veterans services should be conducted on the grounds of the Veterans Facility, and that a full service hospital serving both male and female veterans is necessary for this location; and

WHEREAS, Local civic and community organizations adjacent to the VA Facility fully support the veterans in their quest for a full service hospital, and agree that residential or commercial development on the site is not appropriate nor supportable by the local infrastructure; and

WHEREAS, Veterans and residents agree that the hospital should be built by the Veterans Administration, and not be built under a contract with a private developer; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the New York State Congressional delegation be and hereby is respectfully memorialized by this Legislative Body to direct the Veterans Administration to build a full service hospital on the grounds of the St. Albans Veterans Facility, St. Albans, New York; and be it further

RESOLVED, That copies of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran smitted to each member of the Congressional delegation from the State of New York