Mineola’s three Portuguese cultural groups are considering a merger that they hope would encourage more involvement among young Portuguese-Americans.
The proposal would combine the Mineola Portuguese Center, the Portuguese Heritage Society and the Alheirense Cultural Center into a single group that would operate out of a new, larger facility in the village.
The new building could include a gym, larger ballroom, library, classrooms, study space, museum and coffee shop, resources younger people have said would attract them to the groups, Portuguese Heritage Society secretary Manuel Silva said.
“If we end up merging the organizations together, we will be in a position of offering those services, be able to offer a space where families and kids will feel at ease and will feel good,” he said.
Combining the organizations could also create more unity among Mineola’s Portuguese-American community, Silva said.
While there’s a lot of overlap in the groups’ membership, he said, they don’t have a common gathering place.
The three Mineola clubs’ respective boards each voted last month to hold a public hearing in February to gather feedback about the idea.
There aren’t any concrete estimates of how much a new building would cost or where it would go, Silva said, but hearing from the public will be “a step forward in the right direction,” Silva said.
While some older members may be skeptical of the merger, Silva said, but from what he’s heard the majority of the groups’ members support it.
“Personally I am a Portuguese-American, I’m a parent, and I think my wife and I would like to see our son … learn about where we came from, to learn about our traditions, to learn about the history, and I think most parents feel the same way,” Silva said.
The proposal’s feasibility will largely come down to financing, Silva said.
Some local businesses and club members have offered to help with some expenses and donate museum pieces if the merger were to happen.
The three groups would pool their financial resources to fund it, Silva said, but it’s uncertain where the rest of the money would come from.
“It’s not about bringing in a dollar, two dollars,” he said. “It’s really about bringing everything together to create one center.”
A pair of Portuguese groups in Danbury, Conn. — the Sons of Portugal Club and the Portuguese American Club — similarly merged in 1998 to form the Portuguese Cultural Center there out of a “need for even bigger and better facilities,” its website says.
The union came with a new building that serves as the group’s headquarters.
“It has been proven in other states that bringing community and bringing everything under one roof, you will be able to provide more services, you will be able to provide more things,” Silva said.
Members and non-members of Mineola’s three Portuguese clubs can come to the Mineola Portugese Center’s headquarters at 306 Jericho Turnpike to speak for up to three minutes during the groups’ joint public hearing at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 26.
