Leaked internal Veterans Affairs documents obtained by the Center for Investigative Reporting show that delays at Department of Veterans Affairs New York office are far worse than the agency has publicly let on.

The agency tracks and widely reports the average wait time: 273 days. But the internal data indicates that veterans filing their first claim, including those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, wait nearly two months longer, between 316 and 327 days. The wait in New York can be twice, sometimes three times, as long.

Aaron Glantz, a reporter for the Center for Investigative Reporting, says more than 2,000 New York veterans have been waiting more than 2 years for their benefits.

"To put that in context, in 2009 when President Obama only about 200 New York veterans had to wait more than a year for their benefits," Glantz told WNYC. "Now that's up to almost 6,000."

Listen to Soterios Johnson's full interview with reporter Aaron Glantz above.