By Tara Kyle
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
CHELSEA — State Senator Tom Duane has nominated a longtime Hell's Kitchen activist to the New York Veterans Hall of Fame, an honor bestowed on former servicemen and women for commitment to their communities.
Actor and theater arts teacher Martin Treat, believed to be 61, returned from Vietnam in 1970 after serving as a specialist in the Army Air Cavalry.
In 2003, he culled on those memories to write and perform in a one-man show built off the columns of Ernie Pyle, a famed World War II correspondent.
"Martin has consistently fought for the rights and needs of veterans as well as for peace and social and economic justice for all people," Duane wrote in a letter to the community.
In his civilian life, Treat co-founded the Clinton/Hell's Kitchen Coalition for Pedestrian Safety and served on Community Board 4.
He also participates in the Hell's Kitchen Neighborhood Association, which recently took over management of the Lincoln Tunnel green space Alice's Garden. Treat's wife Kathleen is president of HKNA.
"I'm very pleased to be recognized," Treat said when asked about his nomination. "The service in the military taught me to challenge authority for a better world."
Now, Treat said he applies that lesson to his community advocacy around Hell's Kitchen.
"Sometimes it's like war," he said, "but no one gets killed."
The New York State Senate will honor inductees with a reception in Albany on June 14.
