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 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.”
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.
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