Remarkable Progress In the NY Greek Parade Preparations, But…

But the unnecessary mix of “Priests with Evzones” will raise serious questions regarding the Archbishop’s sincere national allegiances. If His Eminence is so eager to associate himself with the “Evzones,” a premier national symbol, what stops him from putting a Greek and an American Flag outside Saint Nicholas?… Also, the railroad disaster at Tempi will likely put a damper on the celebrations and should preclude the participation in the parade of any member of the corrupt political elites of Greece.

By Nick Stamatakis

Philip Christopher was all smiles yesterday as the 2023 Greek Prade preparations got into high gear, and all chips started falling into place:

Photo: George Logothetis and his wife Nitzia

• It was announced that George Logothetis of the Libra Group would be the Grand Marshal and lead the parade along with John Catsimatides and Ernie Anastos, ABC radio owner, and producer, respectively.  George Logothetis will also be the keynote speaker at the Hilton Gala. I encourage you to link here and read George Logothetis’s bio. He truly is the best example of “Hellenic Cosmopolitanism”: born in a shipping family in England and married to Nitzia, also born into a Greek shipping family (Empiricos), owner of many international businesses, with solid support to the motherland during times of crisis and keeping alive the ties with Hellenes of Greece and the Diaspora by offering very substantial internship program in his companies.  He invested over $500 million in Greece in the years after the financial crisis and supported the country in every way he could.  A true Hellene – he was the right choice!! Congratulations to Philip Christopher for suggesting him!
• The finances of the parade seem to be getting in order. Yes, there are currently many more “pledges than checks,” but we are on the right track.  Yiannis Stroumbakis, Dimitris Gonias, and others delivered good news on the Pierre breakfast and the Hilton Gala.
• The Greek Consulate of NY will have a reception for the Greek Independence on Thursday, March 23, while the White House reception will be held on March 29.
• A Radiothon at Hellas-FM will aim at raising funds for the Parade (April 3, 5-9 pm).
• There will be a Panomogeniaki meeting in Brooklyn and a meeting in New Jersey, which is an excellent idea for obvious reasons…
• All other events seemed to be on track… Next Thursday is an important deadline for all organizations to register their participation! 

PHOTO: Peter Gerazounis of “Korais” addresses the meeting… Next Thursday, he will give a presentation regarding the Massacre of Chios at 7 pm, 30′ before the Panomogeniaki starts.

BUT – there were undoubtedly some questions raised:

• Fr. Evagoras Constantinides announced that all preparations were in place for the arrival of the Evzones and that the Archbishop planned to receive them at 11 am in St. Nicholas Church and walk with them to Bowling Green.  We wondered for months why the Archbishop was so eager to get involved and associate himself with such a national symbol as the “Evzones”. It is unsuitable for the Church leaders to get mixed with national symbols. Last night it was Mr. Asher Matathias, a Greek Jew, who pointed out the problem (amidst his many rumblings): “The Church should stay out of this; ethnicity and religion do not mix well, and it would prevent many Greeks of other religious affiliations to participate,” said Mr.Matathias.  But the issue goes deeper.  Two years ago, a HANC (Hellenic American National Council) Committee, led by its president V.Mataragas, visited Mr. Elpidophoros and received a promise that a Greek and an American Flag would be placed outside Saint Nicholas – just like they had been in the old church.  This promise of the Archbishop never materialized. If Mr.Elpidophoros is so eager to “parade” in the streets of downtown Manhattan with the premier national symbol of the Evzones on the way to Bowling Green for the raising of the Flags ceremony, what is prohibiting him from installing two flags outside Saint Nicholas? We are anxiously awaiting his response. 
• The Consul Mr. Papageorgiou at the end of his various announcements referred to the grave mourning in Greece in the aftermath of the rail disaster at Tempi.  Former President George Georgopoulos picked up the point and suggested a minute’s silence at all events related to the parade. Then yours truly spoke briefly and referred to several calls by community members questioning any excessive “celebrations” during this unbelievable tragedy.  I also pointed out the fact that this tragedy was the result of the diachronic failures of the corrupt political leadership of Greece. Philip Christopher reassured us that this parade is focused on celebrating Greek Independence and will have the right tone.  I must remind everyone that just 5-6 years ago, this same Federation of NY decided to ban Greek politicians from participating in our parade, protesting their treasonous stance on the issue of the “Name of Macedonia.” We have an equally valid reason to issue a similar statement today: “No Greek Politicians Are Allowed In Our Parade!!” It’s the least we can do… (Frankly, it would be better than organizing a demonstration outside the Greek Consulate at 79th Street, as some suggested to me…)
• I also saw some signs of preferential treatment and self-serving attitudes by some Parade Chairs. Example: One of the first things Philip Christopher said upon getting the Parade Chairmanship was that “we have a great guy, Gus Lambropoulos, who organizes popular events at Athens Square, and we should ask for his help”…  Did Nomiki Kastana, who is parade co-chair, and head of the Cultural Committee EVER pick up the phone to invite Lambropoulos to take part? No, she did not… Similar is the situation with Lambropoulos’ wife, Maria Markou: She has been asking for the longest time to be “Keynote Speaker” at Bowling Green – to no avail.  Helleniscope has suggested that this ceremony and this particular post (keynote speaker) be reserved for promoting younger leaders of our community – and not be assigned to the same person every year as we Greeks tend to do… Our goal should be to have new faces in all posts of the Parade every year and NOT the same “Galatoulases” forever… Will we ever learn?

PHOTO: Peter Gerazounis and Yiannis Stroumbakis, two younger leaders ready to help the Federation of New York.

March 17, 2023, n.stamatakis@aol.com www.helleniscope.com

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