Critics blasted New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Wednesday after details emerged showing his proposed budget would cut funding tied to veterans services and slash support for ceremonial events honoring former service members, including a planned ticker-tape parade.
Under Mamdani’s fiscal year 2027 proposal unveiled Tuesday, the Department of Veterans Services would see its budget reduced from roughly $7.6 million to $6.6 million — a cut of more than 13 percent, according to city records.
For many veterans advocates, the reductions landed badly.
Service-disabled Marine Corps veteran Osbert Orduna called the proposal “a slap in the face” to veterans, particularly those dealing with physical injuries and mental health struggles after military service.
“It’s a slap in the face to veterans, to New Yorkers and more specifically to service-disabled veterans,” Orduna said. “People who have sacrificed their minds and their bodies in service to our nation and live in the city.”
The proposed savings plan would also eliminate roughly $60,000 annually for veterans-related events from fiscal years 2026 through 2030. City Hall said it hopes private fundraising efforts can cover future ceremonies instead.
Among the most controversial changes is the cancellation of a planned “Homecoming of Heroes” ticker-tape parade scheduled around the Sept. 11 anniversary. The administration plans to replace it with a lower-cost “Remembrance Ruck” march developed in consultation with veterans groups, according to a mayoral spokesperson.
Orduna argued the events are about far more than symbolism.
“Veterans from across every generation — from World War II to the present — the one time that we can all come together, build our community and support one another is at these functions,” he said.
“Many lives have been saved by veterans just coming together and finding comfort in one another.”
City Council Member Frank Morano, chairman of the council’s Committee on Veterans, said lawmakers would seek more details about exactly what programs and services are being reduced.
“I’d love to see veterans become a much bigger priority for lawmakers at every level of government, not just during commemorative moments, but year round,” Morano said.
Not everyone opposed the changes. Ryan Graham, a former Air Force serviceman who now chairs the New York City Veterans Advisory Board and supports Mamdani, dismissed parades and ceremonies as secondary concerns compared to direct assistance programs.
“Events are fluff. That’s it, plain and simple,” Graham said.
He argued city resources should instead prioritize housing assistance, mental health treatment, and food insecurity programs for struggling veterans.
“I don’t want to see another Kyle or any other veterans take their lives because those services were not there,” Graham said, referencing a friend who later died by suicide after military service.
Still, critics noted the budget proposal also cuts operational spending within the Department of Veterans Services itself. The administration proposed eliminating a $585,000 “Other Expenses – General” category entirely, sharply reducing temporary services funding from $441,000 to just $15,000, and trimming additional funding for supplies and materials.
Former Queens Council Member Bob Holden accused the city of disrespecting veterans while continuing to spend freely elsewhere.
“Replacing a ticker-tape parade with a cheaper event and then planning these so-called ‘savings’ for years ahead is insulting to the men and women who served this country and sacrificed for New York City,” Holden said.
“The city has no problem wasting billions of dollars, but suddenly when it comes to honoring our veterans and 9/11 heroes, they want to pinch pennies.”
A spokesperson for Mamdani insisted the budget adjustments would not impact essential services for veterans, arguing the administration remains committed to maintaining core support programs.
