A decisive public hearing concerning the fate of the Ukrainian Cultural Center at the St. Andrew Memorial Complex — the largest Ukrainian community hub in the United States — will take place on Wednesday, November 6 at 7:00 p.m. in Franklin Township (2301 Route 27, Somerset, NJ). The community is calling on Ukrainians and friends of Ukraine to attend and support efforts to preserve the center, which faces the threat of rezoning, sale, and potential demolition.
This was reported by Oleks Taran, an activist with Svitanok NYC, who emphasized the importance of community presence:
“On September 18, hundreds of us filled the hall and stopped an attempt to ‘quietly’ sell our heritage. The hearing on rezoning the land where the center stands has been rescheduled to November 6 in a larger hall — so we again need a massive turnout.”
Built in the 1980s through the contributions of the Ukrainian-American community, the Ukrainian Cultural Center in Somerset stands as a cornerstone of Ukrainian spiritual and cultural life in the U.S. The complex includes a Ukrainian school — now serving children from families displaced by the war — and a memorial cemetery, where over 8,000 Ukrainian clergy, soldiers, and cultural figures are buried.
The center was designed as a living memorial to churches, libraries, and archives destroyed in Ukraine. A plaque on its grounds reads: “Built in honor of churches, libraries, and archives destroyed in Ukraine. This center shall preserve the spiritual treasures of the Ukrainian nation’s Christianity.”
The organization Svitanok NYC has launched a legal campaign to protect the complex, calling on the public to participate in the hearing and raise awareness.
“When we stand together, we cannot be ignored. We must do everything to preserve the cultural legacy built by our ancestors — a legacy now under threat of destruction,” the statement says.
Activists plan to pursue all legal avenues to stop any unauthorized sale, prevent rezoning that would undermine the site’s spiritual and cultural purpose, and explore alternative ways to safeguard the heritage of Ukrainians in the United States.
According to Svitanok NYC, defending the Ukrainian Cultural Center is not only a legal battle but also a moral duty to past generations who created it as a living tribute to Ukraine’s lost cultural institutions.
Photo: Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA
Author: Inna Mikhno