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SCHENECTADY
Some veterans may be unaware agency moved
Official worried word of relocation didn’t reach all
BY MICHAEL LAMENDOLA Gazette Reporter

    The Schenectady County Veterans Service Agency moved a month ago, but director Thomas Hanaway is finding many veterans remain unaware of the address change.
    “We moved and are hoping to get the word out, but with our system here there is no way to reach out to everyone,” Hanaway said.
    The agency’s new address is 797 Broadway, third floor. The former address was in Center City, third floor.
    The county relocated the agency, the Youth Bureau and the Job Training Agency, which had occupied the second and third floors of Center City, to 797 Broadway on Dec. 19. The county also relocated the Department of Social Services from Nott Street to Broadway as well. About 200 county staff work in the new facility.
    Hanaway said information signs were posted at the agency’s former office at Center City, directing people to 797 Broadway. But he isn’t sure if the signs are still there.
    The Galesi Group, which owns the massive Center City complex, is gutting the interior for new tenants and may have removed the signs.
    Hanaway said the agency serves between 10,000 and 15,000 veterans from Schenectady County, many of them elderly. Some arrive at the agency by public transportation, so going to Center City and then to Broadway causes them a financial hardship, he said.
    “We prefer they make an appointment, but a lot of them are used to knocking on our door at Center City and finding out we aren’t there,” Hanaway said.
    The county is still putting finishing touches on the 797 Broadway complex and has yet to install signs for all the offices, Hanaway said. He expects signs to be installed shortly to direct veterans to the agency.
    The agency has kept its phone numbers: 377-2423 and 377-2738. Hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.
    The agency’s third floor office is..............http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....amp;EntityId=Ar01100

Hanaway couldn't find it because he can't see. He is legally blind and needs others to do his work for him over here, sadly enough. But he was a good Democratic soldier who deserved the patronage I agree

Another only in Schenectady County story. Veteran's Affairs is important and should not be moved without adequate notice. The "new tenants" at Center City is a hoot. Who? Well, maybe, possibly, the YMCA might relocate, without a pool. Another non-profit? Some "renaissance". In this one they close churches and open governmental gin mills.

    The Veteran's office is not adequately staffed and is frequently locked when it should be open to help our veteran's. Recently, I helped a group from the Midwest who were trying to locate the graves of servicemen from WWII. The Veteran's Affairs office was locked in the middle of the day, no note, no nothing. There was a great person running it before who was removed for political reasons. Working together doesn't work.

The Veteran's Administration should be in a building of it's own or at least on the first floor and not on the third. Our veterans deserve better than this. They put their lives on the line so we can continue to enjoy our freedoms and protect us from harm. They deserve better.

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Hanaway couldn't find it because he can't see. He is legally blind and needs others to do his work for him over here, sadly enough. But he was a good Democratic soldier who deserved the patronage I agree

Hope your helping him Sal.......