USA, New York

The public organization “Odesa Community of New York” is a nonprofit organization serving the Greater New York area and bringing together Odesites and people from other regions of the former Soviet Union who recognize and accept the Charter of the Community.

The organization was registered under the above-mentioned working name on March 15, 2004, and in 2014 it was given an additional legal name: “New York Community of Odesites.”

The goals and objectives of the Community are:

  • To preserve, strengthen, and develop Odesa’s cultural and spiritual heritage and traditions among Odesites living in the Greater New York area
  • To provide practical assistance to members of the Community
  • To participate in the cultural and socio-economic life of Odesa
  • To establish, expand, and maintain contacts with Odesan associations in various cities across the United States and other countries

The implementation of these goals and objectives is supported through the civic activities of the members and organizations belonging to the Community, membership dues, donations from individuals and organizations, and monetary grants from state and government institutions.

The organization is governed by a Board of Directors consisting of:

President — Igor Kazatsker

Vice Presidents — Leonid Nor and Natalia Neyzhmakova

Members of the Board of Directors:

  1. Financial Director — Valentina Savinkina
  2. Coordinators for cooperation with New York’s creative and civic organizations: Isaac Vainshelboim, Regina Averbukh, Zhanna Reznik, and Lyudmila Shadrina.
  3. Head of Sponsorship Relations and Contact Coordination with Odesites in Odesa and Other Countries — Oleksandr Krasnopolsky
  4. Head of Information Technology Services — Lev Kleiner
  5. Person responsible for collecting membership dues — Tamara Lvova

The Community has its own logo, designed by the renowned Odesan medallist and artist Boris Kushnir, who was the creator of the first coat of arms of the city of Odesa.

The Community organizes meetings with interesting people, concerts, creative evenings, presentations of new books, and exhibitions of works by Odesan artists, people from Odesa, and authors whose work is dedicated to Odesa-related themes.

The Community’s activities also include participation in citywide memorial rallies commemorating the victims of the Holocaust, the Odesa Holocaust, and the victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks; as well as volunteering in the preparation of voters for elections to city, state, and federal government institutions.

Information about the organization’s work is published in the Community’s social and literary publication “White Acacia,” on the Facebook page “Odesa Community of NY — Одесское Землячество Нью-Йорка,” and is regularly covered by Russian-language media outlets in New York.