The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has awarded a grant of $737,000 to the state of New York for improvements to the State Veterans Home in Stony Brook.

The $737,000 grant will pay up to 65 percent of the cost to renovate utilities at the Stony Brook facility.

Overall cost of the project is estimated at $1.1 million. In addition to the Stony Brook facility, New York State operates veteran's homes in Oxford, St. Albans, Batavia and Montrose.

Further information about the state veterans homes is available on the Internet at http://nysvets.org.

In fiscal year 2004, VA spent more than $3.1 billion in New York to serve nearly 1.2 million veterans who live in the state. VA operates 13 major medical centers in New York State, with outpatient clinics and Vet Centers in many locations.