PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Joe Bello, Member of the Public
1:46:16
ยท
3 min
Joe Bello, a member of the public, provides testimony highlighting several concerns and observations about veteran housing and services in New York City. He emphasizes the need for more clarity on data, policies, and outcomes of initiatives aimed at helping homeless veterans.
- Questions the results of a housing summit held by the mayor and DVS in June 2023
- Raises concerns about data transparency and context behind the numbers presented by the commissioner
- Highlights the issue of aging veterans in shelters and the need for appropriate services
- Discusses problems with NDAs and unclear policies in veteran shelters, particularly at Borden Avenue
Joe Bello
1:46:16
this on?
1:46:17
Yeah.
1:46:17
Here we go.
1:46:18
I really don't have testimony.
1:46:20
I just kinda wanted to point a few things out, like listening to what was going on.
1:46:24
So, first and foremost, I just really wanted to point out as a reminder to everybody that in June of twenty twenty three, the mayor held a with DVS, a housing summit at City Hall.
1:46:38
And if we're talking about housing and needed housing for veterans, really, we still don't know what came out of that that meeting.
1:46:44
A number of people I've spoken to went there.
1:46:47
Pictures were taken.
1:46:48
Things were said.
1:46:49
They talked about something in Brooklyn, and I don't know what came out of that meeting.
1:46:53
So maybe if this is a follow-up conversation, you might wanna do that.
1:46:57
The other thing too is to Francesca.
1:47:00
In speaking to Borden Avenue, I think they did say to you that that the leaking roof has to go to DHS and that there has to be they have to do when they do the capital project.
1:47:12
So that's something that maybe you wanna talk to her about as well with the capital project.
1:47:17
In terms of the commissioner's testimony, one of the things that I'm still really I'm always struggling with is where they're getting their data from.
1:47:26
And the data numbers that are thrown out, there's no context to those numbers.
1:47:31
So for example, you know, when I worked in the city council and one of your predecessors when when the commissioner had announced that they had housed a thousand veterans, we asked them, that's great.
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How many were recidivism?
1:47:44
How many were, you know, were single females?
1:47:48
We asked them a number of questions that we never got answers to.
1:47:51
So in anything that numbers when numbers are thrown out, I'm always looking to what's the context and hence, I'm not getting the context of what how he knows these numbers, where these numbers are coming from, and, you know, what's behind them.
1:48:04
So the data is always to me either a point in time or we're not really we really don't know.
1:48:11
One of the other things that I didn't hear about this hearing that I was very concerned about is aging.
1:48:16
So we know at Borden Avenue, some of the residents are as old as 80.
1:48:21
And recently, one of the residents is 78.
1:48:24
I don't think they need workforce development at that point.
1:48:26
I think they need something other than supportive housing as well.
1:48:30
So we need to have a conversation around Borden Avenue around aging and around what we're doing because we are and I think we all know this looking at everybody in here.
1:48:39
We are an aging population.
1:48:42
70% of us or 72% of us in New York City are over the 55.
1:48:47
So we have to have that conversation as well.
1:48:50
In terms of the NDAs, that has been a problem.
1:48:55
And one of the things that I would have liked to have asked DHS is a number of us, including the groups that you went with, would like to see the policy.
1:49:04
I don't think they've been very clear about the policy on these NDAs.
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And, certainly, they don't NDAs don't screen people.
1:49:12
NDAs are basically like no photographs, and we have to wonder where that rule came out of.
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So I think one of the things that ICL has been talking about is, like, everyone looking at them and them saying, but it's not us.
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It's DHS for this policy that came out in September of twenty twenty four.
1:49:31
So that has to be addressed.
1:49:37
Yeah.
1:49:38
And the other thing too, last, last two points is DHS doesn't make this clear in their testimony here today that this is a policy in every shelter.
1:49:46
I I would have liked to have at least heard that point.
1:49:48
I'm I'm guessing it is, but I certainly didn't hear that.
1:49:51
I only heard Borden Avenue.
Robert F. Holden
1:49:53
So Yeah.