Ukrainians in New York

The Ukrainian community in New York formed as a result of four waves of migration:

• The first settlers arrived in the 1870s. First of all, these were workers from the Western Ukrainian cities of Transcarpathia and Lemkovschina, who at that time were part of Austria-Hungary . Ukrainians settled in the factories of the city. In the early years, these relocations were described by Ukrainian writer Vladimir Korolenko , who visited New York while traveling in the USA.
• The second wave of Ukrainian immigration to the USA occurred in the interwar period (20-30s of the XX century) and significantly differed from the pre-war period. Firstly, the number of immigrants sharply decreased, which was associated with the period of the Great Depression in the USA , as well as the adoption by the US authorities of measures to limit immigration. Secondly, political emigrants appeared among Ukrainians - participants in the national liberation movement in Ukraine in 1918-1920. After the fall of several Ukrainian governments, soldiers, officers, and national intelligentsia arrived in the United States who emigrated to the United States for political reasons.
• The vast majority of Ukrainians of the third wave of immigration arrived in the United States during 1947-1951 and belonged to the category of so-called “displaced persons” who, after the Second World War, were in camps for refugees and prisoners of war, a significant part were former UPA soldiers, veterans of the Ukrainian division "Galicia" , which managed to avoid the liquidation of the Soviet special services. Among the immigrants there were a large number of intelligentsia and scientists who contributed to the development of Ukrainian political, social, cultural and religious life in the diaspora. These immigrants were united by a commitment to the independence of Ukraine and the restoration of the Ukrainian sovereign state. It was the representatives of this wave of immigration who launched an active activity to collect and preserve written, material and other monuments of history and culture of Ukraine.
• The beginning of the fourth wave of immigration to the United States (the so-called "economic immigration") is considered the mid-1980s. During the decline and collapse of the Soviet Union, many Ukrainians, taking the opportunity to visit relatives in the United States, remained here for permanent residence. Most of them left the territory of the USSR, and then - independent Ukraine through the difficult economic conditions that came after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Most of them had higher education or a technical specialty, knew English, which made it possible to find work in the USA. Many of them started their own business, opened private firms, restaurants.

As of 2016, there are 131.300 Ukrainians in New York who live compactly in Manhattan , in the East Village area , called the “Ukrainian East Village” or “Little Ukraine” .

Representatives of the Ukrainian diaspora have traditionally been divided into “old” and “new” emigrants, Orthodox and Greek Catholics, Ukrainian speakers and those who no longer speak Ukrainian, Bandera and Melnikovites, the remnants of the UNR and hetman political camps, and so on. Euromaidan and the war in eastern Ukraine united the Ukrainian community in New York.

In 1952, the Soyuzivka Ukrainian Cultural Center (created by the Ukrainian People's Union) was founded in the Kergonkson district, located on 250 acres of square with 9 houses, each of which was named after the regions of Ukraine. At the moment, this cultural center is used for a variety of programs that aim to instill Ukrainian cultural heritage with American youth of Ukrainian origin. He organizes children's camps for the study of Ukrainian culture, seminars, festivals, concerts, dance evenings and art exhibitions.

There is the Ukrainian Institute of America (President Daniel Swistel), the Ukrainian People’s House (head Andrey Lastovetsky), the Union of Ukrainian Youth , led by Andrey Begun, is active.

On the territory of the Ukrainian quarter a large number of Ukrainian restaurants, shops and other institutions. For a long time, the Ukrainian Creative Club, a literary club, a coffee shop "Kiev", a restaurant "Odessa" were operating.

In 2014, with the onset of Russian aggression in Crimea and the war in the Donbass, a volunteer movement arose among representatives of the diaspora. The chairman of the volunteer movement of the Ukrainian diaspora of the city of New York is Oleg Melnik, who regularly sends assistance to the military ATO.

All-American institutions of Ukrainians are located in New York - the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (headed by Andrey Futey), the Ukrainian-American Coordination Council (headed by Igor Gavdyak), the Union of Ukrainian Ukrainians (headed by Marianna Zayats), the Society of Ukrainian Engineers of America (headed by Askold Boretsky), Ukrainian Scout organization “Plast” (headed by Petr Stavnichy), Association of Ukrainian Artists in America .

Religious Institutions and Organizations

Next to Shevchenko Square is the Ukrainian Catholic Church of St. George, the first service of which took place in 1890. In 1965, the Ukrainian Patriarchal Society was created with the aim of seeking the patriarchal way of life of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, headed by Supreme Archbishop Joseph Blind .

On Sundays, services are held, to which all the faithful of the Ukrainian community of New York gather. Since 1926 there is the Ukrainian Orthodox Department of St. Vladimir. The church took an active part to unify Ukrainian Orthodoxy in the United States, launched economic activities. In April 1946, the parish acquired a farm in South Bound Brook , which was called the "Ukrainian Village." The parishioners of the Church of St. Vladimir, with their labor and cohesion, were able to turn this wasteland farm into a wonderful holiday destination with a rich cultural life. Residential premises, a chapel were built here, utility rooms, a pond and lawns were landscaped, which allowed for a variety of cultural events and the organization of youth camps.

Education and science

In 1949, the first Saturday Ukrainian school was opened, headed by Ivan Makar, attended by Ukrainian children from the most remote areas of the city - Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, Westchester and even from the neighboring state of New Jersey. About 200 children study at the school: from preschoolers to high school students.

Since 1947, the Taras Shevchenko Scientific Society (NTS, president - George Grabovich) has been operating in the city, at which a research center was established to study the Ukrainian diaspora in the United States of America. The Society organizes and conducts scientific conferences, colloquiums, symposia and weekly public lectures, participates in national and international scientific conferences and congresses, provides research grants for scientists and scholarships for qualified students. The NTS has published numerous scientific papers in various languages, including three multivolume encyclopedias of Ukraine.

In 1948, the Ukrainian Institute of America was founded, and in 1950 the Ukrainian Free Academy of Sciences was created, of which Albert Kipa is currently the president.

Museum

In 1976, the Ukrainian Museum in New York was opened. The main collection was founded by the Union of Ukrainian Ukrainians in the early 1930s and was under the patronage of the SUA until the creation of the museum. The museum curators chose as their patron the master, who is well known in New York - Alexander Arkhipenko , currently the museum is headed by Renata Kholod.

The museum is the largest museum in the United States that preserves the cultural and historical heritage of the Ukrainian people. The museum’s collection consists of three main groups: ethnographic, graphic, archive of history and cultural heritage of Ukrainian emigration to the USA - personal archives of Ukrainian families, old photographs, antique publications. In 2005, the museum moved to a new building in downtown Manhattan. The museum demonstrates Ukrainian cinema. Among museum archives, a collection of maps of the 17th-18th centuries is worthy of special attention; a large numismatic collection, which includes the silver hryvnia of the 9th century, coins of the 16th century, Ukrainian money from the beginning of the 20th century to the present day; a collection of postage stamps from the first quarter of the 20th century to the present; photographs and documents related to Ukrainian emigration to the USA.

Museum workshops of folk art teach those who wish to master traditional Ukrainian crafts: painting Easter eggs, embroidery, tapestry weaving, traditional bakery, making bead jewelry and Christmas toys. The museum annually hosts several thematic exhibitions. Key expositions are devoted to folk and fine arts, including contemporary art and photography, but historical and archival exhibitions are also held.

The history of the Ukrainian media in New York is represented by the following publications: the weekly Union , printed during 1908-1921, the two-week Sichovye Izvestia (1918-1923), and the Ukrainian Greek Catholic edition was published in New York in 1967-2002. Church " Patriarchate ". In 2015, the Ukrainian-American cultural and art magazine InLove began to be published.

In 1922, the Ukrainian community held a “Ukrainian day,” during which it staged a 20,000-strong demonstration against Poland’s oppression of Ukrainians in Eastern Galicia with the participation of Ukrainian public societies and institutions from all American cities. From that moment he entered the tradition.

Every year in May, the Ukrainian St. Jura Festival takes place, which dates back to 1976. The festival was founded by the fathers of the Order of St. Basil the Great in honor of the celebration of the 200th anniversary of US independence.

One of the main Ukrainian business organizations is the Samopomich-New York Federal Credit Union, led by Bogdan Kurchak. In 1966, the Ukrainian National Federal Credit Union UkrNatFCU was established. Ukrainian Credit Union is a non-profit organization. All income received is returned to its members in the form of free fees for services, high dividends on accounts and low interest rates on loans.

A prominent entrepreneur and philanthropist was , the founder of an industrial company.

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