Staten Island is in NYC: Rose Secures Major Victories for SI Student Vets, Servicemembers on Housing

Press Release

Congressman Max Rose, an Army combat veteran, secured major victories last week for Staten Island veteran students and servicemembers by passing through the House of Representatives provisions that would bring Staten Island into the same Military Housing Area (MHA) as the rest of New York City. Currently, Staten Island-based servicemembers and veteran students receive thousands of dollars less per year in Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) funding than if they were stationed or taking classes anywhere else in New York City.

"Staten Island is in New York, not New Jersey--and it's absurd that we have to fight the federal government to acknowledge that in order to ensure our student veterans and servicemembers get the benefits they need and deserve," said Rose, a Member of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs. "Not only is this grossly unfair for Staten Island servicemembers and student veterans to receive hundreds of dollars less per month, thousands less per year--it puts our colleges and universities at a tremendous disadvantage. I'm proud to have finally secured a fix once and for all--and will continue fighting tooth and nail to get this signed into law."

As part of this year's National Defense Authorization Act, which passed the House of Representatives last week, Rose secured a provision which directs the Secretary of Defense to allow no more than one military housing area in a municipality with a population of over 500,000. This would ensure that New York City would be covered by only one MHA, fixing this years-long injustice and creating equity for servicemembers, veteran students, and the colleges and universities on Staten Island.

Additionally, as part of the appropriations bill which funds the Department of Veterans' Affairs hat also passed the House of Representatives last week, Rose secured a provision requiring a report on whether housing benefits in municipalities covered by more than one military housing area are adequate to meet the financial needs of GI Bill recipients located in those areas preventing barriers in similar municipalities, or in New York City, from ever being put in place again.

The Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) is designed to provide fair housing allowances to servicemembers while on active duty. It is also provided to veterans attending college or on-the-job training programs through the Post-9/11 GI Bill. Currently, the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens are in one Military Housing Area while Staten Island is in a separate one with Bayonne, New Jersey. The result of this is that active-duty servicemembers stationed on Staten Island and veteran students who take college courses on Staten Island receive significantly less than if they were stationed in or took courses in another borough. New York City is one of only three of the biggest 32 major cities to suffer this BAH disparity, and currently has the largest disparity among those examples.

"The Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) policy that separates Staten Island from the other four boroughs of New York City and unfairly treats active duty members and veteran students on Staten Island differently than across the Verrazzano Bridge must be corrected," said Brian Browne, Executive Director of University Relations and Assistant Vice President of Government Relations at St. John's University. "At St. John's University, a military-friendly school, that welcomes veteran students we will continue to work with Rep. Max Rose and others to see this inequity permanently eliminated."

"The College of Staten Island is proud to be continuously recognized for its award-winning service to our nation's veterans, most recently being honored as a 2020-2021 Gold Award winner and a Top 10 School by Military Friendly. Additionally, The College of Staten Island has been designated a "Purple Heart University' First College in NYC. Holding true to these exemplary designations, CSI continues to pursue ground-breaking and forward-thinking initiatives to integrate and ensure that veterans in our community have access to the benefits, services, and resources that they deserve," said Laura Scazzafavo, Director of Veteran Support Services at the College of Staten Island. "Unfortunately, due to the large disparity in BAH, CSI has witnessed a steady decline in veteran student enrollment as they enroll at other schools in NYC for a higher BAH rate. We will continue to see veteran student enrollment at CSI decrease if the BAH is not equitably adjusted to reflect that of New York City and other CUNY institutions. Our veterans and their families sacrifice so much during their service to our nation, and in return, we must serve them by eliminating any obstacles that prevent them from accessing affordable housing in Staten Island. CSI only wants our student veterans in Staten Island to receive the same benefits that student veterans in the other boroughs of New York City already enjoy. It is with this in mind that I urge the Department of Defense to adjust the BAH rates for Staten Island to match those of Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, and the Bronx."

Earlier this year as colleges and universities closed campuses and moved to online learning, veteran students receiving BAH vouchers were in jeopardy of seeing benefits slashed, potentially forcing them to fall behind on rent. Following a bipartisan call from Rose and his colleagues, Congress passed a bipartisan legislative fix which was signed into law.

Last year, Rose laid out his case for why the current policy is wrong and called on Congress and the Department of Defense to change the policy to better reflect real costs facing servicemembers and veteran students on Staten Island. In last year's defense bill, which was signed into law, Rose secured a provision that allows the Secretary of Defense to increase housing allowance rates if actual costs of housing exceed 20 percent of current rates--a safeguard for Staten Island service members being ripped off by this disparity.

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