New York State Veterans Cemetery - Finger Lakes Came Under State Ownership in February 2023
National Cemetery Administration to Provide $3.951 Million for Expansion and Improvements
Governor Kathy Hochul today announced the award of nearly $4 million in federal funding to support expansion and improvement projects at the New York State Veterans Cemetery - Finger Lakes, the first veterans cemetery owned and operated by New York State. This builds on the Governor's announcement of the formal establishment of the State cemetery in February 2023, and marks an important milestone that will help ensure the State can provide dignified burial options for New York’s veterans and their families for generations to come.
“Our veterans give so much for us, it is only right they have a dedicated, dignified space to rest,” Governor Hochul said. “The establishment of this cemetery is a proud achievement of my administration, and I am thankful for my partners who have made this possible. This federal funding will ensure the cemetery is maintained to the highest standards as it so rightfully should.”
Overseen by the New York State Department of Veterans' Services, the New York State Veterans Cemetery – Finger Lakes occupies 162 acres along Seneca Lake in Romulus, Seneca County and is adjacent to Sampson State Park. The site has 147 acres of land available for development and construction projects to ensure it serves as an honored resting place for New York State’s heroes for generations to come. The Cemetery is located at the site of the former Sampson Naval Training Station and Sampson Air Force Base, where hundreds of thousands of service members trained during World War II and the Korean War. The site later functioned as a temporary college and a separation center for service members being discharged, and officially closed in 2000. The Cemetery is located near Waterloo, the community recognized as the birthplace of Memorial Day.
New York State Department of Veterans’ Services Commissioner Viviana DeCohen said, “There is no higher honor than to ensure that each New Yorker who has served in our nation’s military is laid to rest in the dignified manner that their service and sacrifice merits. The New York State Veterans Cemetery – Finger Lakes guarantees that all New Yorkers who have served will have a place where they can receive their final honors on hallowed ground with a rich legacy of military service. We are immensely grateful to Governor Hochul, to all who have maintained this cemetery in Seneca County throughout its years of existence, and to our partners at the National Cemetery Administration in all of their efforts to reach this important moment.”
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said, “The New York State Veterans Cemetery – Finger Lakes is hallowed ground for thousands of American heroes who defended our nation. After standing shoulder to shoulder with our veteran advocates earlier this year to secure the critical funding needed for cemetery expansions and improvements, I’m proud today to help deliver a total of $4 million, an increase of more than forty percent of the original federal funding for New York’s first-ever State Veterans Cemetery. Our veterans protected our freedoms, and this funding will honor their service by ensuring a fitting final resting place for the brave men and women and their families who served our country.”
Representative Joe Morelle said, “Our veterans and their families have given everything in defense of our great nation, and they deserve to be memorialized in a final resting place befitting of their service. Considering the birthplace of Memorial Day was in nearby Waterloo, I can think of few locations in the Finger Lakes Region better suited for this honor--and we should do everything possible to preserve it. I’m proud to see this level of federal funding to expand and improve on our area’s veteran’s cemetery, and grateful to Governor Hochul for her support of our military.”
Chairman Seneca County Board of Supervisors Michael Enslow said, “We are pleased to hear that the National Cemetery Administration is investing $3.91 million in grant funding into the state’s first Veteran’s Cemetery here in Seneca County in Romulus, NY. It’s truly honorable to see the hard work of so many continued. This funding will ensure that we are able to carry on the recognition of those veterans that have served & paid the ultimate sacrifice for our country.“
Seneca County Manager Kyle Lovell said, “Today we honor our nation’s heroes by investing $3.91 million in grants to help sustain and improve the New York State Veterans Cemetery in Romulus. This generous grant from the National Cemetery Administration will help us to ensure the sacrifices of our veterans are forever memorialized and their legacy cherished. I am tremendously grateful to be a part of Seneca County’s continued dedication to honoring our veterans, and this grant will help ensure that the New York State Veterans Cemetery will stand as a lasting tribute to those who served our nation with valor and honor.”
The federal funding announced today is the culmination of a process that began in 2022, when the National Cemetery Administration awarded New York State a $2.8 million grant opportunity for projects associated with the New York State Veterans Cemetery - Finger Lakes. Following a design and planning phase during which NYS DVS worked closely with Seneca County and the NCA to ensure the project would meet federal specifications, the NCA increased New York State's final grant award by more than 40 percent to $3.951 million. This funding will allow for upgrades, including a columbarium, maintenance building, maintenance yard, and supporting infrastructure.
New York State is home to more than 688,000 veterans, and until Governor Hochul's administration established the New York State Veterans Cemetery - Finger Lakes, New York was one of just a handful of states across the country that did not have a federally recognized state-owned and operated veterans’ cemetery. The New York State Veterans Cemetery – Finger Lakes is open for internments of all eligible veterans (as defined by federal law) and eligible family members.
About the Department of Veterans’ Services
The New York State Department of Veterans’ Services, which has served as the state’s advocacy agency for veterans, service members, and military families since 1945, maintains an agencywide commitment of serving all veterans, service members, and military families in a wide range of practice areas, including claims and appeals for benefits from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, discharge upgrade appeals to the United States Department of Defense, and claims for New York State benefits. Veterans, service members, and military families are encouraged to contact the Department at 888-838-7697 or its website veterans.ny.gov to meet — in person or virtually — with an accredited Veterans Benefits Advisor to address their needs and gain the full measure of benefits that they have earned. Follow DVS on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.