Erie County Veterans Service Agency

The Veterans Service Agency is Erie County's county veterans' service agency under Veterans' Services Law 14; see the New York entry on county and city veterans' service agencies. The American Legion of Erie County started it in 1926 with a County appropriation, the first such office in the State, and it became part of County government on January 1, 1945. Local Law 1 of 2008 re-established it as a stand-alone office reporting to the County Executive. The director is Felice Krycia. What it does. Its staff, accredited as American Legion service officers, help gather evidence, file and track VA claims, and appeal denials, with representation through to final decision, at no cost. The agency also reviews State and local benefits, and it is the office that processes the burial of indigent veterans and next of kin at County expense under General Municipal Law 148; see the New York entry on burial of veterans without means. How to reach it. Edward A. Rath County Office Building, 95 Franklin Street, Suite 800, Buffalo, NY 14202; 716-858-6363; [email protected]; Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Two things on its pages to read with care. The About page says the agency is mandated by "Executive Law, Section 357"; that section has been Veterans' Services Law 14 since 2022. And its Burial page says VA pays $300 for burial and funeral expenses and $300 for a plot for a veteran whose death is not service-connected. Those are old figures; VA's non-service-connected allowances are each several times that now ($1,002 for deaths on or after October 1, 2025), so check with VA or the agency before relying on the page.