Federation Stands United Behind Lou Katsos, Despite Christopher’s Disruptions

ΕΑΝ ΠΡΟΤΙΜΑΤΕ ΤΑ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΑ ΠΑΤΗΣΤΕ ΤΗΝ ΣΗΜΑΙΑ ΣΤΟ ΚΑΤΩ ΜΕΡΟΣ ΤΗΣ ΟΘΟΝΗΣ

By Nick Stamatakis

Once again, Philip Christopher has made a mockery of the Federation of Hellenic Societies of Greater New York. In a letter dated August 11th, he addressed “Parade Volunteers” as if he were still the official Parade Chairman — even though both opposing Boards of the Federation unanimously elected Mr. Lou Katsos as the new Chairman for the 2026 Parade.

In an article of June 17, titled “Philip Christopher Has To Pledge the Return of the Parade Surplus” (link here), we demanded answers… More than two months later, we hear from many that there is $52,000 missing from the Parade’s accounts or money that has not been paid yet!! And we hear that Mr. Christopher has no plans to deliver the Parade’s accounts to the new Committee!!

This is not just arrogance. It is a direct violation of the rules, bylaws, and spirit of the Federation. The Federation has spoken with one voice. Both sides agreed on Lou Katsos. They have worked diligently all summer, forming committees, preparing logistics, and charting a smooth path forward for the 2026 Parade. At a rare moment of unity, the Greek-American community was ready to turn the page and begin early, productive work for a successful Parade.

But Mr. Christopher, in his narcissistic fever, refuses to accept reality.

He pretends to be “concerned” about unity, when in fact, for the past three years, he has practiced only the politics of divide and rule. I was present in the fall of 2022 when an effort was made to re-unify the Federation. He was asked to contribute to this effort. Instead, he mocked those present and took no action. Even now, when unity has finally been achieved, he continues his narcissistic performance, pretending that he alone can safeguard the Parade.

A Record of Division and Failure

Even worse is his egregious failure to provide the most basic responsibility of any Parade Chairman:

1. He has failed to deliver the full financial report of the 2025 Parade — more than two months past due, in violation of Federation bylaws.

2. He has failed to transfer the Parade surplus funds to the duly elected 2026 Parade Committee.

3. He continues to misuse Federation letterhead and titles he no longer has any right to claim.

This is not incompetence; it is sabotage. It is absolutely disgusting that Mr. Christopher — whose Cypriot-American organizations are not even members of the Federation — still attempts to exert control over the Parade and the Federation.

Who Is Behind Him?

The real question the community must ask: Whose interests is Philip Christopher serving? Certainly not those of the Greek-American community. Certainly not the cause of Hellenism in New York or in America. His actions are destructive, divisive, and corrosive to the unity we desperately need.

For years, he has been acting as if he were accountable to no one, as if the Parade were his personal fiefdom. Enough is enough. The community will not allow this behavior to continue unchecked.

Moving Forward Without Him

I have personally spoken with several prominent Greek-American philanthropists who are willing to put down whatever funds are necessary to ensure the 2026 Parade’s success — with or without Mr. Christopher’s cooperation. As for the funds he is currently withholding, he will have to explain himself before the courts.

The Parade will move forward, and it will do so without the shadow of narcissism and obstruction. The days when one man could hold the entire Greek-American community hostage are over.

Mr. Christopher should either respect the will of the Federation — or step aside permanently.

August 27, 2025, n.stamatakis@aol.com   www.helleniscope.com

DISCLAIMER: The views and statements expressed in this article constitute constitutionally protected opinions of this author.

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BELOW YOU CAN READ BOTH LETTERS

AUGUST 11 LETTER BY PHILIP CHRISTOPHER IN PDF IMG_20250827_0002 AND IN TEXT BELOW:

August 11, 2025

My Fellow Parade Volunteers,

Re: 2026 Parade

This is in response to your various phone calls and inquiries regarding the 2026 parade.

Although I have not received any communications or invites from the two combating Boards of the Federation, it is my understanding that the two Boards have decided that the parade will be held April 26, 2026.  Our responsibility and obligation is to make sure that we safeguard the parade accounts and also protect the tax exempt status of the Federation by providing clear and accurate financials.

The fiscal year of the Federation ended June 30, 2025.  Accordingly, we are preparing the financials to reflect all transactions from July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025.  I met with our hard working Treasurer, Demetris Paliouras and our Administrative Executive, Stavros Papagermanos, and verified all transactions for the period ending June 30, 2025.

Please note the balance on our two parade accounts which is the Gala and the General Operating Account. The balance of our two parade accounts as of July 1, 2025 is $220,796.33.

Any checks that arrived after June 30, 2025 will be deposited and reflected in the 2025 Parade financial statement.  For the two parade accounts, we can account for every transaction and every dollar.  However, we have no control of the accounts that the two Boards of the Federation utilize for their expenses. We know that a significant amount of money is frozen by court order, and the dispute between the two Boards is still ongoing, which presents certain risks for the Parade accounts.

In September, I will invite the current Parade Committee to a final meeting and urge the two competing Federations to hold elections and re-establish a united Board of the Federation of Hellenic Societies, so we can have a smooth, legal transition and protect the tax-exempt status of the Federation.

I look forward to our meeting in September.

Best regards,
Philip Christopher

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HERE IS THE FEDERATION’S LETTER TO MR. CHRISTOPHER IN PDF Letter to Mr.Christopher

AND BELOW IN TEXT

August 20th, 2025
Dear Mr. Christopher,

Please accept the following in response to your August 11, 2025 letter addressed to “My
Fellow Parade Volunteers” that we and many others received.
We trust that this response will cause you to better appreciate the realities of the
Federation, its lawful Administration, and most importantly, the fully and universally
approved 2026 Parade Committee and its Chairman, so that you will refrain from repeating
your wholly improper, inaccurate and schismatic correspondence in the future.
Your extraordinary efforts in support of The Greek Independence Day Parade and its
associated events have been well noted by all concerned, however please be reminded that
the Federation of Hellenic Societies of Greater New York, Inc., has been and continues to
be the official and singular Host and Organizer of our Historic Parade since 1938 and since
the Parade first stepped on 5th Avenue over 70 years ago.

As you well know, weeks after the close of our 2025 Parade and its surrounding events, the
Federation’s Board and its General Assembly unanimously, universally and publicly,
thanked you for your service as our 2025 Parade Chairman, which position you were
elected to and fully supported by the Board. At that very same recent General Assembly,
we elected Lou Katsos as our Parade Chairman for the 2026 Parade, which election was
similarly universally and wholeheartedly adopted by and the entire Organized Hellenic
Community. Since the Federation’ election of Mr. Katsos, he has called and held numerous
meetings across the Federation’s spectrum of supporters, and all have agreed to work
zealously and patriotically in support of his unifying vision for an ever-successful 2026
Parade and related Events. Moreover, as part of his unifying vision, Mr. Katsos has asked
all our Community’s leaders to populate all key Parade Committees, which is something
that we will endeavor to do.

Upon your earlier election as Parade Chairman, the Parade Committee was given the
limited authority to responsibly use the pre-existing Parade Bank account monies to fund
Parade expenses and events and to deposit all donations made to the Federation’s Parade
and related events. This Board is well aware of our Community’s financial support and has
remained current with our tax filing obligations for all known Federation Income and
Expenses, including all Parades’ to date, which figures we have presented to our
Accountant for filing with the appropriate tax authorities. Although the 2025 Parade ended
well over 90 days ago, your letter notes that you are still working on your Final Financial
Report. As we trust you are aware, our By-Laws mandate that all Committees present their
final Financial Report to the Board within 60 days of the Event. Accordingly, per your own
admission, you are currently well beyond the appropriate time-frame. Nevertheless, your
expedited presentation of your detailed Financial Report would be appreciated, as same is required for our tax 2025 filings and for full transparency for our Board, our Members and
Supporters.

Notwithstanding the tone of your letter, as noted above, we fully appreciate our tax filing
obligations and await a much more (event by event) detailed review of the 2025 Parade’s
Income and Expense Statement from you so we can include this information in our tax filings and perhaps learn and improve from past events. We have and will continue to respect, protect and preserve our hard-earned tax status and every dollar from our donors, so kindly refrain from further creating the appearance of issues where there are none to our knowledge.

Moving forward, should anyone communicate with you regarding the 2026 Parade, kindly
advise them to make any inquiry directly to the Federation at our above noted contact
information, or directly to our 2026 Parade Chairman, Lou Katsos
at: lkatsos@jekmarassoc.com.

In the end, please be aware that all monies in the Parade’s and all other Federation bank
accounts, opened under our Tax ID, belong exclusively to the Federation and are the
responsibility of its Board and not any “Committee” that was formed under the Federation’s
auspices. This Board’s Members are legally accountable for all Federation Finances and are
well capable of safeguarding all these funds which presupposes your transparency and
accurate Parade Committee Financial Report. Accordingly, you are on notice not to interfere
with the smooth financial transition of the Federation’s Parade Bank accounts, which smooth transition you were afforded upon your earlier election as Parade Chairman. Historically, all past Parade Chairpersons have supported the Chair that followed them. We trust you will respect this longstanding protocol and work with our new Parade Chairman and the Committee that he has and will continue to form with our support, and as always, under our required supervision.

With respect to the lingering Federation litigation, please know that we continue to work with all concerned to resolve, in a just manner, whatever issues remain. Nevertheless, kindly refrain from continuing with your divisive and wrongly placed rhetoric that, as we trust you are aware, has lately not been helpful and serves anti-Federation purposes that sadly you appear to support.

Lastly, you are to refrain from any further use the Federation’s Letterhead and Seal in any
capacity without our written consent. You have never had any authority to do so, but out of
respect for your past service, we turned an eye to this, but you have clearly pushed this
discretion too far with your absolutely unilateral and self-serving actions and unauthorized
letters that purport to represent the Federation’s position, which they certainly do not.
We regret the tone of this letter, but you have gone too far with your belief that the
Federation’s Parade Committee and its finances are somehow perpetually under your control and that you can unilaterally guide us to “Federation Unity” with ultimately corrosive “meetings and elections” that you alone have called for in defiance of our By-Laws. We regret to advise you that since your tenure as Parade Chairman, which separate and apart we appreciate, you have nevertheless been far more divisive than inclusive with your “unity efforts”. Notwithstanding all the above, your tenure as Parade Chairman has now ended by unanimous and universal acclimation. Again, we thank you for your services, so please show us just a bit of the great respect that we have shown you over the past three years by aiding in the smooth Parade Committee transition, with the same respect and dignity shown to you by this Board and by your Parade Chairmen predecessors.

Very truly yours,

Demos Siokis                  Christina Kostakis

President                      General Secretary