Bricks and Beliefs: Preservation of Tangible and Intangible Heritage in the Ukrainian Village in New York City
In this guest blog post, Preservation Consultant Andrew Roblee shines a light on a historic space providing much-needed social services to Ukrainian refugees in the East Village of Manhattan. The First Ukrainian Assembly of God has called its 1867 Second Empire building home since 1937. In recent years, the building’s exterior has suffered from deferred maintenance that the congregation is committed to addressing. But while they tackle their preservation projects, they are also proving essential services and a community gathering place to both longtime congregants and recent refugees who have fled Ukraine since Russia’s 2022 invasion.
Cooper Square circa 1900. On the left you can see the building that houses the Cooper Union. To the right, an elevated railway line obscures the buildings across Cooper Square. The First Ukrainian building is seen second from right, with the Mansard roof.
The First Ukrainian Assembly of God church at 59 Cooper Square in Manhattan is a Second Empire-style building originally constructed in 1867 as the Metropolitan Savings Bank. It was opened for working-class clients and women in what was then called “Little Germany” - an immigrant neighborhood of primarily German speakers. Architect Carl Pfeiffer, himself a German immigrant, designed the bank building in reaction to the catastrophic fires of the mid-19th century in New York, and it was lauded as the first fully “fireproof” building in Manhattan. Built in mostly non-combustible materials, it features decoratively-molded metal staircases and floor panels, and has thick walls of white Tuckahoe marble.
After a period of political and social upheaval in the Russian Empire, the end of the 19th century saw a large influx of Ukrainian and other Eastern European immigrants to New York. The Ukrainian community in America came to be centered in the East Village in an area known as the Ukrainian Village, roughly bounded by Houston and 14th Street, and Third Avenue and Avenue A. Today, approximately one third of the Ukrainian Americans living in New York City are still residing in the Ukrainian Village. In the mid-1930s, Slavic Pentecostal church, founded by a Russian Army deserter who fled to America in 1912, was divided into a Russian-speaking church and a Ukrainian-speaking church. The latter became the First Ukrainian Assembly of God, which obtained the bank building in 1937. The building was landmarked by the NYC Landmarks Preservation Board in 1966 and listed on the National Register in 1976.
After decades of decreasing attendance and membership, the congregation had trouble keeping up with the historic building’s needs. During the pandemic, the Building Department of the City of New York hit the church with violations due to the condition of the exterior, with fines totaling over $60,000 by January 2022. The church quickly employed a preservation consultant to help identify funding streams and a preservation architect to study building conditions and develop plans for rehabilitation.
A recent photo of 59 Cooper Square, the First Ukrainian Assembly of God.
It was during these initial preservation planning discussions that the Russian invasion of Ukraine began. The church responded to this event by greatly increasing their program assisting immigrants at the same moment when they were finally trying to come to grips with the mounting building department fines and the planning of a comprehensive rehabilitation. An organization called nyc4Ukraine was founded by the Church administration to provide financial assistance for refugees still internally displaced inside Ukraine, including money for medical supplies, emergency staff, and other life-saving services. The Church has provided spaces for several community groups that are focused on assisting Ukrainians across the globe, serving nearly 5,000 people during the last year.
Since the outbreak of war, the church has been visited by city commissioners and UN staff to observe its programs and benefits. It mobilized efforts to fundraise for refugee services as well, making the interior space crucial for the safety and well being of newcomers. The trend of diminishing Ukrainian immigrants has reversed significantly. To put it into perspective, between 2010 and 2020 the number of Ukrainians in America grew by about 30,000. In 2021 alone it grew by 40,000 despite the restrictions imposed by COVID-19. However, since the Russian invasion, over 270,000 Ukrainians have come to the US, mostly through New York City.
The League team was recently able to visit FUAG and learn more about their preservation project and ongoing social service work. Left to right: League Director of Preservation Caitlin Meives, Church Pastor Ivan Belets, Consultant Andrew Roblee, Preservation Architect Matthew Jenkins, and Church volunteer Mariia Khorun.
Meanwhile, cultural programs have been held on site, creating a kind of hub for the preservation of Ukrainian culture in America. Events that provide the opportunity for recent arrivals to share their experiences and share their common culture with others are being held in the historic bank vault in the basement. During these events, the room fills with people who have immigrated from the warzone in Ukraine within the last two years, mostly women and children (men under 65 are under a military restriction and cannot typically leave). Traditional fare like borscht, potato pancakes, and delicious Ukrainian cookies are served as refugees tell their stories and play music in their native language. Despite the hardship, there are generally no tears, no lamentations, but mostly laughter and happiness. All come to share in a common experience, and to engage with a specific geographic place in the expression of their value system. Here the interconnectedness of intangible and tangible heritage is on full display. This building, originally built as a way for immigrants to save their money, has served for nearly 90 years as a place for immigrants to save their culture.
The weight of Building Department fines could create obstacles in the continuation of the church’s programming, and thereby cut off one important pathway for refugees to continue their lives in peace here in the United States. However, the war situation has provided a sense of urgency to the restoration project, giving it new energy and momentum. In late 2022, the church was awarded a Landmarks Conservancy Sacred Sites grant in the amount of $48,000, and an Environmental Protection Fund grant of $487,000. This is a good start, but represents less than half of the cost of the total restoration estimate. The Church continues to fundraise to preserve its historic facade.
A church member and her baby during a recent event.
Preservationists study the intricate relationship between tangible and intangible heritage in order to study the way a people, culture group, or ethnicity inhabits or “engages with specific geographic places in the expression of their value system”, and how “placeness” gets preserved for their benefit. The First Ukrainian Assembly of God, Cornerstone Church is a perfect example of the inextricable relationship between the tangible and intangible heritage and the vital importance of the preservation of both. Looking to the future, the efforts of highly enthusiastic and committed congregants and professionals will continue to come together with the architects, planners, government authorities, and other yet to be known sources, to create new solutions, and preserve this place in the Ukrainian village for future generations to derive meaning from, and to imbue with more meaning.