A handful of Ukrainian storefronts and signage are still hanging on along lower Second Avenue.
There’s Ukrainian soul food standby Veselka and the Ukrainian National Home, both off of East Ninth Street. Taras Shevchenko Place and St. George’s Church are around the corner on East Seventh.
But the East Village’s Ukrainian presence is a shadow of what it was in post–World War II New York, when Ukrainian immigrants poured in, reportedly topping 60,000 in the 1950s.
Here’s a piece of ephemera from that once-thriving community. Stephan Kowbasniuk was a well-known lawyer in Little Ukraine; in this ad he offers to handle passports, shipping, real estate transactions, and citizenship papers.
It’s tough to date the ad, but considering the vintage Algonquin phone exchange, it must be pre-1960s.
[Thanks to frequent Ephemeral commenter Mick Dementiuk for the Ukrainian translation]
Ephemeral New York 