Newsletter - Autumn 2011

Summer Picnic 2011

A very successful CNYC summer picnic was held at Centerport Beach on Long Island on Sunday July 31st . 110 people attended and members of the Cunski Club were invited guests. The crowd thoroughly enjoyed the music of the band Dalmati, and as always, the great food.

Mural Projects

The CNYC has been considering creating a mural depicting Croatian culture in New York City. A donated highly visible wall location is necessary. Help is sought identifying a location, and planning the project. A meeting was held with the Dean of Engineering and Computer Sciences at the New York Institute of Technology concerning the creation of an interactive mural installation depicting the scientific accomplishments of Croatian born scientist, and long time New Yorker Nikola Tesla. The CNYC submitted to the Dean a development proposal. NYIT is proposing that a student competition be organized, and will be developing this idea.

Oral History Project

The CNYC/CFU joint oral history project continues, but requires additional help, support and research. A visit by CNYC to New Orleans in June established a new pathway to making tapes in Louisiana. Contacts made at the CFU Quadrennial Convention in September opened opportunities to make tapes in Montreal and Hamilton, Canada, Sacramento, California, and Detroit, Michigan. Previous requests from Leadville, Colorado, Springfield, Massachusetts and Duluth, Minnesota are unfulfilled. The Croatian community in Boston area is growing and becoming more active, and could be and additional area for making video tapes.

CFU Quadrennial Convention - Buffalo, New York

Anton Angelich was elected to be a New York delegate to the CFU’s 23rd Quadrennial Convention held in Buffalo, New York in September. Many new contacts were made between Croatian people from such diverse places as Alaska, Montana, West Virginia, Arizona, California, Nebraska, Wisconsin, etc. at the convention. An interest developed about joining forces with Stamford, Connecticut CFU Radnicka Sloga Lodge in terms of joint activities (i.e. the CNYC Summer Picnic) . Discussions continued on how best to establish a new CFU lodge on Long Island. A proposal is in place to rename and relocate a dormant lodge in Queens, NY to Long Island. This may be the long awaited culmination of the dream of having a lodge on Long Island.

University of Rijeka Outreach to NYC Meeting

The CNYC attended the University of Rijeka outreach program presentation to NYC sponsored by the Consulate and Columbia University, . With a large Croatian diaspora community with roots in Istria, Kvarner and the Rijeka – Hrvatsko Primorje in the New York area, The University of Rijeka was exploring means of how to build upon that natural bridge.

Tesla Science Center at Wardenclyffe Conference – Riverhead, Long Island November 2011

The CNYC attended this conference and discussed the CNYC Tesla mural project at NYIT.

Croatian Relief Services (Fairview, New Jersey)

Ftaher Gio Belanich, long time friend of CNYC has concentrated his relief services on Haiti. He could benefit from an organized clothing drive and needs help in handling and accommodating donations.

Community Service Volunteer Projects

In an effort to serve the communities in which we now live, the CNYC has been considering cleaning up and restoring a small community park. Initial discussions were held with the Town of Huntington, NY. Dan Drzavnosti – Croatian Independence Day Celebration The CNYC participated in this celebration at Nada Bernic’s New York restaurant The Terrace.

When Courage Prevailed Documentary Film Premier

The CNYC attended the premier of Jadranka Kero’s documentary based on Esther Gitman’s book: “When Courage Prevailed – The Rescue and Survival of Jews in the Independent State of Croatia 1941-1945’ held at the Harriman Institute in Manhattan

Community Outreach

The Croatian New Yorker Club website draws many inquiries about all things Croatian. We have heard from people in Croatia looking for relatives in New York, university students looking for jobs or summer internships, Croatian-Americans looking to trace their family history, or learn to speak Croatian, people in Croatia looking to sell their products, conduct business here, or looking for financial help for family medical issues. As of late the number of requests has significantly increased. Volunteers from the CNYC organization try to answer all inquiries, but have trouble keeping up with the large number of requests.