Columbia Association of U.S. Customs

The Columbia Association of U.S. Customs and Affiliated Federal Agencies was founded at New York in 1946 as a charitable, fraternal, social, and non-profit organization open to what was then local Bureau of Customs employees, and other federal employees, of Italian descent. An active organization in the New York trade community for over 60 years, the Columbia Association has now opened its membership to all persons, regardless of ethnic background.

Per its original charter, the underlying purpose of the organization is to uphold the Constitution of the United States, to observe and respect the laws of this country, to stimulate and encourage a unity of effort and purpose among all persons of Italian ancestry, and most importantly to promote equality of opportunity to all peoples and foster a keener spirit of brotherhood, understanding and cooperation among its members.

The Columbia Association aims to encourage ties of friendship among all employee members, perpetuate the ethnic, social, and spiritual traditions of the Italian culture, and to foster better understanding among all ethnicities and cultural backgrounds. The organization has a long history of identifying and assisting those charitable groups and social service organizations that serve the New York community, and to offer fraternal and benevolent assistance to those in need.

The Columbia Association is also a member of the National Council of Columbia Associations of Civil Service. The National Council, founded in 1975, is an umbrella organization representing over 120,000 members in civil service, among them the Columbia Associations for the New York Police Department, Fire Department, Department of Sanitation, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and the National Coalition of Italian American Law Enforcement Associations. Our organization’s current president, Philip J. Maddalena, also served as President of the National Council from 1996 to 1998.