Chamber Joins Office of the Borough President and SIEDC for Continuation of VETS Discount Program
March 8, 2024, Staten Island, NY – Staten Island Economic Development Corporation (SIEDC) President & CEO Michael Cusick, Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella, and Staten Island Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Linda Baran came together today with community members, local business owners, and the veteran community to announce the continuation of the Staten Island Veterans Discount Program (VETS Program) and encourage local businesses to sign on.
The leaders gathered to make the announcement at Piece-A-Cake bakery in New Dorp, the latest business to join the program and offer 10% off goods and services to veterans with discount cards.
The bakery is one of over 200 local businesses to join the program since it was founded over 12 years ago under then-Assemblymember Michael Cusick. How it works: participating businesses provide various discounts on goods and services for veterans registered with the program.
The process for joining is simple. Interested businesses should contact the SIEDC at (718) 477-1400, ext. 827, or bobby@siedc.org.
Businesses can determine with the SIEDC the percentage discount they’d like to offer to service members. Upon joining, they are welcome to display the VETS Program logo on their storefront to indicate their involvement with the program.
Veterans looking to receive a personalized VETS Program card can visit the SIEDC office with proof of military service, such as discharge papers, to receive their discount card. A growing list of participating businesses can be viewed on the SI Chamber’s website here.
Opened in 2012 by Maria Carrozza, Piece-A-Cake has expanded to include its adjacent location, Cookie Jar, and offers a variety of baked goods in addition to coffee, breakfast, lunch, and other sweet selections. The business is an involved member of the New Dorp Lane Business Improvement District (BID) and SI Chamber of Commerce.
Carrozza was joined at the press conference by New Dorp Lane BID Chair Carmine DeSantis, as well as New York City Councilman David Carr, who helps fund the BID. Speakers emphasized that the VETS program is not only a way to give back to the veteran community, but to also drive engagement and promote customer growth throughout the borough’s commercial corridors.
“For over a decade, the VETS Program has served as a unifying way for businesses in our borough to show their gratitude to our veteran community,” said Mike Cusick, SIEDC President & CEO. “The SIEDC is honored to join forces with the Borough President’s Office and Chamber of Commerce to continue to help alleviate rising costs for goods and services for this population - and we call on local businesses and other establishments in the borough’s BIDs and merchant associations to sign on to the program.”
“If there’s one thing people know about Staten Island, it’s that Staten Island cares, especially for our veterans. We are proud to sponsor this program as a way of saying ‘thank you’ and giving back to the men and women who dedicated their service to our country,” said Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella.
“The Staten Island Chamber of Commerce is proud to take part in the VETS Program, which will continue to provide discounts at hundreds of local businesses to Veterans in our Borough,” said Linda Baran, President and CEO of the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce. “The VETS Program is emblematic of the Staten Island business community’s appreciation for those who have served our country. We are deeply proud of our membership’s participation, and we thank the Staten Island Economic Development Corporation and the Office of Borough President Vito Fossella for their continued partnership on this important initiative.”
“Our veterans have done so much for us – being a part of the VETS program is a token of our appreciation,” said Maria Carrozza, owner of Piece-A-Cake.
