Fate of former vets’ home still grim
OXFORD – A Homes for Heroes bill that would set aside $200 million to help the nation’s communities and veteran’s groups build, rehabilitate or purchase housing structures for homeless veterans is still in committee.
Local supporters of the formerly vacated New York State Veterans’ Home in Oxford have held high hopes that the bill could help save it from the wrecking ball. They say less than $2 million would be enough to renovate and rehabilitate the 31-year-old structure for such a purpose.
Residents and management have been operating out of a newly completed and expanded, $70 million New York State vets’ home next door since the beginning of the year. It is the third veterans’ home built over the years at the same county Rt. 32 site.
A spokesman for U.S. Senator Charles Schumer, Binghamton-NY, said Friday that the Senator “is doing whatever he can to get it out of committee and passed.”
The Homes for Heroes bill has 14 sponsors, including Schumer, and was being considered under the budget for defense last year. It is currently part of the Senate’s budget process and could be attached to regulatory reform measures that are being considered for the financial services industry.
“The bottom line is that the bill is still in committee, but there are a couple of options to get it enacted into law. We’re pursuing all of them,” said Max Young, press secretary.
Ever since a New York State Department of Health feasibility study determined in October 2008 that the building would be cost prohibitive to bring up to code for long term care, a grassroots group of Chenango County supervisors, Commerce Chenango and Oxford Village officials, and concerned residents have rallied to defend it.
“We have a lot of people on board trying to come up with a use for it that would employ people. We don’t want the state to waste that kind of money. It’s only 30 years old. It’s pathetic that they would want to tear it down,” said local businessman David Emerson of Georgetown Road.
Village Mayor Terry Stark suggested that the surrounding confluence of road, rail, river, recreation and veterans’ home residents would be conducive to creating an increased quality of life for veterans and community residents as well as a favorable business environment.
“Hopefully (we) can help to provide some wisdom in preserving a $20 million asset sitting in the middle of Chenango County,” he told a group meeting at a forum held last year to discuss the various alternatives.
The New York State Veterans’ Business Council, a subsidiary of the National Disabled Veterans Business Council, later prepared a proposal for using the home to house disabled veterans. Camp Freedom, as it would have been called, would offer residents educational and vocational opportunities, create new jobs in the community, increase expenditures at area small businesses, and generate sales tax revenues for local governments.
Regardless of these alternative use ideas, at the present time the DOH plans to proceed with the building’s removal by the end of the year. Assistant Commissioner James Clancy wrote in a letter to Commerce Chenango President Maureen Carpenter last month that maintaining the former building would take resources away from the care of veterans in the new facility.
Commerce Chenango Economic Development Specialist Jennifer Tavares said using the building to house and serve homeless veterans of war is the type of economic development project that government should promote.
“Many individuals ponder whether spending $2 million to demolish a facility that requires far less than $2 million to renovate and rehabilitate is a fair use of taxpayer dollars,” she wrote in the May newsletter of Commerce Chenango.
DOH Public Affairs Director Claudia Hutton said Friday that the land between the two facilities is needed for water drainage purposes, and water would back up into the new facility if the vacated facility weren’t demolished.
When asked whether $2 million would be enough to bring the structure up to code, she said she didn’t think the amount was enough. “To reuse it, we would need to put a lot into it. I don’t think ($2 million) is correct,” she said.
Hutton confirmed that it would take approximately $1.5 million to tear the building down, including $500,000 for asbestos removal.
Local supporters of the formerly vacated New York State Veterans’ Home in Oxford have held high hopes that the bill could help save it from the wrecking ball. They say less than $2 million would be enough to renovate and rehabilitate the 31-year-old structure for such a purpose.
Residents and management have been operating out of a newly completed and expanded, $70 million New York State vets’ home next door since the beginning of the year. It is the third veterans’ home built over the years at the same county Rt. 32 site.
A spokesman for U.S. Senator Charles Schumer, Binghamton-NY, said Friday that the Senator “is doing whatever he can to get it out of committee and passed.”
The Homes for Heroes bill has 14 sponsors, including Schumer, and was being considered under the budget for defense last year. It is currently part of the Senate’s budget process and could be attached to regulatory reform measures that are being considered for the financial services industry.
“The bottom line is that the bill is still in committee, but there are a couple of options to get it enacted into law. We’re pursuing all of them,” said Max Young, press secretary.
Ever since a New York State Department of Health feasibility study determined in October 2008 that the building would be cost prohibitive to bring up to code for long term care, a grassroots group of Chenango County supervisors, Commerce Chenango and Oxford Village officials, and concerned residents have rallied to defend it.
“We have a lot of people on board trying to come up with a use for it that would employ people. We don’t want the state to waste that kind of money. It’s only 30 years old. It’s pathetic that they would want to tear it down,” said local businessman David Emerson of Georgetown Road.
Village Mayor Terry Stark suggested that the surrounding confluence of road, rail, river, recreation and veterans’ home residents would be conducive to creating an increased quality of life for veterans and community residents as well as a favorable business environment.
“Hopefully (we) can help to provide some wisdom in preserving a $20 million asset sitting in the middle of Chenango County,” he told a group meeting at a forum held last year to discuss the various alternatives.
The New York State Veterans’ Business Council, a subsidiary of the National Disabled Veterans Business Council, later prepared a proposal for using the home to house disabled veterans. Camp Freedom, as it would have been called, would offer residents educational and vocational opportunities, create new jobs in the community, increase expenditures at area small businesses, and generate sales tax revenues for local governments.
Regardless of these alternative use ideas, at the present time the DOH plans to proceed with the building’s removal by the end of the year. Assistant Commissioner James Clancy wrote in a letter to Commerce Chenango President Maureen Carpenter last month that maintaining the former building would take resources away from the care of veterans in the new facility.
Commerce Chenango Economic Development Specialist Jennifer Tavares said using the building to house and serve homeless veterans of war is the type of economic development project that government should promote.
“Many individuals ponder whether spending $2 million to demolish a facility that requires far less than $2 million to renovate and rehabilitate is a fair use of taxpayer dollars,” she wrote in the May newsletter of Commerce Chenango.
DOH Public Affairs Director Claudia Hutton said Friday that the land between the two facilities is needed for water drainage purposes, and water would back up into the new facility if the vacated facility weren’t demolished.
When asked whether $2 million would be enough to bring the structure up to code, she said she didn’t think the amount was enough. “To reuse it, we would need to put a lot into it. I don’t think ($2 million) is correct,” she said.
Hutton confirmed that it would take approximately $1.5 million to tear the building down, including $500,000 for asbestos removal.
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