Letter to Secretary Shulkin, VA - The VA Must Do Its Part To Overcome These Final Impediments For Veterans, Their Families And All Who Call Western New York Home
Letter
Dear VA Secretary Shulkin,
I write to request that the U.S. Department of Veterans' Affairs (VA) work to overcome a last remaining impediment to construction of the new Western New York National Veterans Cemetery. Namely, I urge you to complete the acquisition of the 60 acre and the 77 acre parcels in Pembroke, NY that are located adjacent to the existing 132 acre cemetery site purchased by the Department in 2014 and then swiftly act to begin construction this year. As you know, buried gas line work was requisite to VA's acquisition of these parcels. I understand that this work was completed in December 2017, and I urge you to finalize these acquisitions and commit to begin the cemetery's construction this year.
The cemetery design calls for the main entrance of the new cemetery to be built through this 60 acre parcel of land so that veterans, their families, and cemetery visitors can access the cemetery from Indian Falls Road, rather than via the busy State Route 77 corridor. Additionally, the 60 acre parcel and 77 acre parcel will greatly expand the cemetery's operational life and enable the VA to construct a cemetery which more aligned with the Department's initial vision for a 200-acre site. According to a timeline the Department provided to my office in June 2017, the VA aimed to begin construction approximately six months after purchase of the 60 and 77 acre parcels, followed by the opening of the early turnover area for burials a year later in 2019.
More than 96,000 veterans and their families across Western New York from Rochester and the Finger Lakes Region to Buffalo deserve to have this cemetery constructed as soon as possible without unnecessary delay. I urge you to immediately overcome the final impediments to this process for the benefit of veterans across the region. I thank you in advance for your attention to this matter and appreciate your consideration of my request.
Sincerely,
Charles E. Schumer
U.S. Senator
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