Magyar News, 1993. szeptember-1994. augusztus (4. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1993-09-01 / 1. szám
SUPPORT THE HUNGARIAN HERITAGE CENTER The courtyard view of the Hungarian ‘ fk 1 Pf\ */ f s Heritage Center, museum, library and arffttS I v T AL S-! v chives. Architect László Papp of New The American Hungarians with hard work and personal sacrifice established the Heritage Center. Many of us attended the opening ceremonies in May, 1989. There is süli some financial difficulty to finalize the ownership of the property. The article we are reprinting from The Star-Ledger explains the problem. We know that people are hurting in this economic situation, but if you could help this worthy cause, don’t think about it, do it. Editor By GAIL FERGUSON JONES The Hungarian Heritage Center in New Brunswick, struggling through recession and a dearth of donations, is issuing a nationwide fund-raising appeal to raise $1 million by September to forestall foreclosure. The $2.5 million center, which opened in May 1989, has since suffered the loss of grant funding and declining donations, forcing officials to renegotiate the terms of a $1.4 million mortgage with Newark-based First Fidelity Bank. “We became part of the economic downturn in that many donors who had made pledges of support were not able to do so,” said August J. Molnár, president of the 39-year-old American Hungarian Foundation, which operates the museum, library and archives at its Somerset Street headquarters. “By the end of 1990, we were cutting back on all our expenses,” he said. Those cuts included the elimination of about five staff positions, including the full-time museum curator, the leasing of space to three other organizations and talks with First Fidelity aimed at garnering an interest rate lower than the 11 percent that had been set. Other losses included some $50,000 in funding from the state Council on the Arts. "We saw that we were facing more problems because our income was not keeping pace with what our needs were,” Molnár said. “When we began our negotiations with the bank, it wasn’t to change the whole situation, it was just to negotiate our mortgage rate.” Although talks with the bank failed to yield a lower interest rate, he said, First Fidelity did agree to suspend the $16,000 monthly mortgage payments through 1992. In December, a pact was reached under which the center is to make monthly mortgage payments of 4 $30,000 through Sept. 15, when a balloon payment of $580,000 will come due. The bank has agreed to accept the total of $850,000 interest free and to forgive the remaining $500,000 due if the nine-month deadline is met. If the foundation can raise at least $500,000 by September, it will be able to use some $350,000 in surplus funds to satisfy the loan, Molnár said, noting, however, that officials hope to raise enough money to avoid depleting its surplus. "Our goal is $1 million. That’s what we’re trying to raise.” he said. "Although we have many donors in New Jersey and friends who have been helpful, we are reaching out across the country.” The 18,000-square-foot, two-story center, formerly a needle factory that employed Hungarians in the area, houses a collection that chronicles the history of Hungarians in America since Colonial days. It is the only research center of its kind in the nation. The center’s annual operating budget of about $350,000 does not include mortgage payments. "If we were to operate at the level that we should, it would be double that,” Molnár said. He said officials are concerned about maintaining the high professional standards that have marked the foundation’s programs, which include its role as a host of New Brunswick’s Sister City program with Debrecen, Hungary; its traveling exhibits, educational programs and business exchange. "We have made a commitment to New Brunswick and the redevelopment and renaissance of the city,” said the former Rutgers University professor and foundation organizer. "We have invested over $2 million here, not only in brick and mortar, but in the cultural and educational sphere. “This institution has brought to New Brunswick at least 10,000 visitors a year,” Molnár noted. “There have been any number of dignitaries that otherwise would not have come here. “We have had Fulbright scholars hosted here at the center. They’ve made their home here and used our library to do their research. This is something we intend to keep going as an institution.” The center’s library boasts some 30,000 volumes and “the archives continue to grow,” Molnár added. The non-profit foundation, with a volunteer 25-member board of directors headed by Zoltán Merszei, former president and chairman of Dow Chemical Co., is reaching out to corporations and businesses for support, as well as to private contributors. Among its biggest boosters is the William Penn Association of Pittsburgh, a legal reserve insurance group founded 104 years ago by Hungarian- American miners, which maintains an office at the center. The association has made the foundation’s financial woes front-page news in its newsletter over the past two months. As a result, Molnár said, "We are getting contributions, small and large. We’re getting $50, $100 from people across the country." In the meantime, the center is continuing with plans for several of its annual programs.
