From the Executive Director's Desk,

Mayor Michael Bloomberg has written a letter to Secretary Jim Nicholson in regards to the CARES process. You can view a copy from the attached link below. I received the following from the New York Harbor Healthcare System (VA Hospital) - The Local Advisory Panel (LAP) of the CARES Project for The Department of Veterans Affairs has scheduled public meetings for the New York Harbor Healthcare System - Manhattan and Brooklyn Hospitals and the Saint Albans Extended Care Center. A request to be placed on the agenda to testify must be stated and consists of the submission of written testimony that includes the speaker's name, address, phone number and identifies if the speaker is speaking on behalf of an organization, which must be identified, or as an individual.

The request must be submitted to John Mazzulla, Staff Assistant, Executive Office VA NYHHS/ Brooklyn Campus 800 Poly Place, Brooklyn, NY 11209 and postmarked by April 25th 2005 or may be submitted by e-mail to John.Mazzulla@med.va.gov. E-mail must be received by April 25th 2005. Written testimony, as well as spoken testimony, will become part of the official LAP proceedings. Speakers will be advised of their placement on the public comment session of the agenda as soon as possible after close of requests to speak at the meeting. The deadline for signing up to give testimony is Monday, April 25, 2005. For further information the telephone number for the CARES Hotline is (718) 630-3658.

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg recently sent a letter to Veterans' Administration Secretary R. James Nicholson in regards to the Fiscal Year 2006 Veterans' Administration Budget and the impact it will have on the VA Hospitals in New York City. Please click on the link below to read the Mayor's letter:

• Mayor Bloomberg's letter to Secretary Nicholson

The Local Advisory Panel of the Capital Asset Realignment for Enhanced Services (CARES) Commission Project for the Department of Veterans' Affairs, for studying the feasibility of consolidating the Brooklyn and Manhattan campuses of the VA New York Harbor Healthcare System has announced a public meeting from 3 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., Tuesday, May 3, 2005 at the Marriott New York at the Brooklyn Bridge, 333 Adams Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201. A request to be placed on the agenda to testify must be stated and submitted to the VA by April 25, 2005. Please click on the following link for more information:

• Brooklyn-New York Local Advisory Panel Meeting Agenda

The Local Advisory Panel for studying plans to replace the infrastructure of the Primary and Extended Care Center in St. Albans, NY has announced a public meeting from 3 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., Thursday, May 5, 2005 in the Pratt Auditorium of the VA Primary and Extended Care Center, 179th Street and Linden Boulevard, Saint Albans, NY 11425. Requests to be placed on the agenda to testify must be stated and submitted to the VA by April 25, 2005. Please click on the following link for more information.

• St. Albans Local Advisory Panel Meeting Agenda

The 18th annual Fleet Week celebration will take place this year from Wednesday, May 25 through Tuesday, May 31. Fleet Week 2005 will feature a vast array of United States Navy, United States Coast Guard and Foreign Ships, including, the USS John F. Kennedy, the Navy's storied aircraft carrier named for the 35th President of the United States. For the most current updates on New York City's premier salute to the sea services, please visit www.nyc.gov/veterans or visit the official Navy Fleet Week site at www.fleetweek.navy.mil.

The City of New York Department for the Aging presents its 22nd Age in Action Festival on Wednesday, May 11, 2005 in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens. This festival of music, art, entertainment and workshops celebrates the gifts, talents and abilities of older New Yorkers while offering resources for seniors to learn about the services available to them in New York City. Representatives from the Veterans' Administration New York Harbor Healthcare System, the New York State Division of Veterans' Affairs and the Mayor's Office of Veterans' Affairs will be on hand to answer questions. For more information dial 311 or visit the Department for the Aging Web site at http://www.nyc.gov/html/dfta.

The United States Small Business Administration (SBA) presents "Building a Solid Workforce for Small Business Success: Developing Effective Personnel Policies" workshop, Thursday, May 5, 2005 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 26 Federal Plaza, 6th Floor Conference Center - Room A, New York, NY 10278. Veterans interested in attending should call (212) 264-4322 or e-mail Robin Daniels at robin.daniels@sba.gov to register.

The Vietnam Veterans of Greater New York present Welcome Back, a remembrance march and ceremony commemorating the 20th anniversary of the New York City Vietnam Veterans Memorial and "Welcome Home" Parade. Staging for the March begins at 9 a.m., Friday, May 6, 2005 at Cadman Plaza, Brooklyn. From 10 a.m. to Noon, participants will march across the Brooklyn Bridge to the Vietnam Veterans Plaza, 55 Water Street, New York, NY. A ceremony will be held at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial from Noon to 2 p.m. For more information, please contact the United War Veterans Council of New York City at (212) 693-0157 or e-mail uwvc@stories-of-service.org.

The American Legion and the American Legion Riders Association present a Vietnam Veterans Remembrance Day Ceremony commemorating the 30th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War beginning at Noon, Saturday, May 7, 2005 at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Plaza, 55 Water Street, New York, NY. Please contact Joe at (718) 822-4242 or Pat at (212) 693-1476 for more information.

The United States Department of Veterans' Affairs New York Harbor Healthcare System invites all Women Veterans to participate in the 14th Annual Women Veterans' Health Conference, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Friday, May 20, 2005 at the Brooklyn Veterans' Administration Hospital, 800 Poly Place, 2nd Floor Assembly Room, Brooklyn, NY 11209. The conference will feature several workshops and panel discussions including a lecture on Stress and Military Service in Iraq and Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom Benefits. Pre-registration is required for this event. Interested women veterans may call Kathleen Mertz at (718) 836-6600 ext. 6793, Karen Faber at (212) 951-3314 or download the form from the link below and mail it to the address listed in order to register.

• Women Veterans' Health Conference Registration Form

The United States Army Garrison Fort Hamilton has several events planned during the coming months. All events are free and open to the general public. The Army Soldier Show will be held at 2 p.m., May 27, 2005 and again at 7 p.m., May 28, 2005 at the Post Theater. A Twilight Tattoo honoring the 180th birthday of Army Garrison Fort Hamilton will be held at 6 p.m., June 11, 2005 on the garrison's Pershing Field. A valid photo ID is required for access to the installation. For more information, please call (718) 630-4783 or visit the garrison's Web site at www.hamilton.army.mil and click on upcoming events.

The two-hour original movie Faith of My Fathers, based on Arizona Senator John McCain's experiences in the Vietnam War will premiere on Memorial Day at 8 p.m. Monday, May 30, 2005 on the A&E Network. For more information, please visit www.aetv.com or click on movie's press release and flyer below:

• Faith of My Fathers Flyer
• Faith of My Fathers Press Release

The United States General Services Administration (GSA) is hosting its third annual Small Business Resource Day: Helping Veteran-Owned Small Businesses Discover Federal Government Procurement Opportunities. The event, sponsored by GSA, the United States Small Business Administration and the United States Department of Veterans' Affairs will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Wednesday, June 22, 2005, at 26 Federal Plaza, 6th Floor Conference Center, New York, NY 10278. Although there is no admission fee, interested participants are asked to register by calling (212) 264-8265. Veterans may also request registration forms via e-mail at R2.SBUC@gsa.gov.

The Department of Veterans' Affairs Office of Readjustment Counseling is offering grief counseling services to families of service members who die while on active duty. Counseling is conducted through the Vet Centers, and also serves families of reservists and National Guard members who die while activated for federal duty. For more information please call (202) 273-9116 or e-mail vet.center@hq.med.va.gov. For a listing of Vet Centers in New York City, please visit www1.va.gov/visns/visn03/vetctrs.asp

The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is working to make veterans' preference for federal jobs available to more veterans. A new application that allows federal agencies to accept veterans' disability letters is being posted directly on the OPM Web site so the agencies can immediately accept Veterans' Affairs Department letters of disability. For more information, please visit the OPM Web site at www.opm.gov.

America Supports You is a nationwide Department of Defense program designed to recognize citizens' support for our military men and women and to communicate that support to members of our Armed Forces at home and abroad. Please visit their Web site at www.americasupportsyou.mil to register your support for the troops and to learn about the efforts people are making worldwide to support the United States military.

The Mayor's Office of Veterans' Affairs is encouraging all Veterans currently receiving the newsletter via regular mail, to consider providing an e-mail address in order to receive the electronic version of the newsletter. The e-newsletter contains links to relevant information not available through a hard copy and arrives in your inbox much quicker than the hard copy arrives in your mailbox. To submit an e-mail address, please visit www.nyc.gov/veterans and click on Join Our Mailing List.