{"id":71508,"date":"2026-05-14T20:51:13","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T20:51:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/71508\/"},"modified":"2026-05-14T20:51:13","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T20:51:13","slug":"veteran-services-face-1-million-cut-under-zohran-mamdanis-nyc-budget","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/71508\/","title":{"rendered":"Veteran Services Face $1 Million Cut Under Zohran Mamdani\u2019s NYC Budget"},"content":{"rendered":"

New York City Democratic Mayor Zohran Mamdani\u2019s proposed city budget includes $1 million in cuts to veterans services<\/a> and gets rid of funding for several high\u2011profile events honoring former service members.<\/p>\n

Mamdani\u2019s proposal unveiled on Wednesday has prompted backlash from veterans groups and some City Council members who say the cuts undermine support for those who served.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

Why It Matters<\/p>\n

New York City is home to tens of thousands of veterans who rely on city services for housing assistance<\/a> and community support.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Even relatively small budget cuts can have an outsized impact on outreach and programming, particularly as the city grapples with rising housing costs and mental health challenges<\/a> among former service members.<\/p>\n

\"NewWhat To Know<\/p>\n

According to city budget documents, the Department of Veterans\u2019 Services budget would drop from about $7.6 million to roughly $6.6 million.<\/p>\n

That represents a reduction of more than 13 percent, with funding for veterans\u2011related events reduced by about $60,000 per year through fiscal 2030.<\/p>\n

City officials said they may seek private donations to help cover the cost of events going forward.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a New York City budget proposal cutting roughly $1 million from the city’s Department of Veterans Services at a moment when New York’s 200k+ veterans are also facing federal VA staffing cuts, PACT Act claim backlogs, and the collapse of affordable repayment programs for veteran student loan borrowers,\u201d Michael Ryan, finance expert and founder of MichaelRyanMoney.com<\/a>, told Newsweek.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe timing is politically tone-deaf even if the dollar amount is modest relative to a $115 billion city budget.\u201d<\/p>\n

Newsweek reached out to Mamdani\u2019s office for comment via email.<\/p>\n

How Would Veterans Events Be Affected?<\/p>\n

One of the most visible changes under the budget involves various city veteran events.<\/p>\n

The proposal includes:<\/p>\n

Canceling a planned \u201cHomecoming of Heroes\u201d ticker\u2011tape paradeAxing city funding for some annual veterans commemorationsReplacing the parade with a lower\u2011cost \u201cRemembrance Ruck\u201d march, developed with input from veterans organizations\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cA new mayor inheriting a $6 billion budget gap has to make cuts somewhere,\u201d Ryan said. \u201cBut ‘we cut the veterans parade to save money’ is a political gift to opponents that no fiscal justification fully neutralizes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Criticism From Veterans and Lawmakers<\/p>\n

Veterans and their advocacy groups have reacted strongly to the proposed cuts.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a slap in the face to veterans, to New Yorkers and more specifically to service-disabled veterans \u2014 people who have sacrificed their minds and their bodies in service to our nation and live in the city,\u201d Osbert Orduna, a service\u2011disabled Marine Corps veteran, told the New York Post.<\/p>\n

City Council Member Frank Morano, who chairs the council\u2019s Committee on Veterans, said he is pushing for more details on which programs would be reduced and what services would be preserved.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d love to see veterans become a much bigger priority for lawmakers at every level of government, not just during commemorative moments, but year round,\u201d Morano told the Post.<\/p>\n

What Do Supporters of the Budget Say?<\/p>\n

Not all veterans agree with the backlash.<\/p>\n

Ryan Graham, former U.S. Air Force service member and chair of the New York City Veterans Advisory Board, defended the administration\u2019s approach, arguing that the large ceremonial events are \u201cfluff,\u201d and resources should go toward housing and mental health.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want to see another Kyle or any other veterans take their lives because those services were not there,\u201d Graham said, referring to a high school friend who served and then committed suicide.<\/p>\n

What Happens Next<\/p>\n

The mayor\u2019s budget proposal must still go through the New York City Council, where lawmakers can negotiate changes.<\/p>\n

Next steps include:<\/p>\n

Budget hearingsPotential amendments restoring some fundingA final council vote before the fiscal year begins\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cIn theory, we all want to pay less in taxes and see less government spending.\u00a0At least we think we do until that spending cut affects something we care about,\u201d Drew Powers, founder of Illinois-based Powers Financial Group, told Newsweek.<\/p>\n

\u201cTicker-tape parades are debatable.\u00a0What is not debatable is that we already do not spend enough to support our Veterans, so my hope is that real services such as medical care, suicide prevention, and housing services continue and perhaps even expanded.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"New York City Democratic Mayor Zohran Mamdani\u2019s proposed city budget includes $1 million in cuts to veterans services…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":71509,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[148],"tags":[1062,560,51,6523,553],"class_list":{"0":"post-71508","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-zohran-mamdani","8":"tag-budget","9":"tag-new-york-city","10":"tag-politics","11":"tag-veterans","12":"tag-zohran-mamdani"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@people\/116574911427338142","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71508","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71508"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71508\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/71509"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71508"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=71508"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=71508"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}