Greek Independence Day Parade Spreads Democracy up 5th Ave

Zito I ellada!

That’s the shared sound of elation: Long Live Greece!, transliterated and resounding along Fifth Avenue as thousands of spectators and marchers celebrated the blue-and-white flag of Hellas for the annual Greek Independence Day parade on Sunday, March 30.

The route, which ran from East 61st to East 74th Street, reflected the event’s place in the middle of the pack, participation-wise, of Manhattan parades.

Weather for the event, which was sponsored by the Federation of Hellenic Societies of Greater New York, was okay, overcast with temperatures in the 40s—an unfortunately far cry from the sunny 80-degree burst of summer the city had felt the day before.

The grand marshals of the parade were U.S. Army General Andrew Poppas, the first Greek-American-born four-star general, and commanding officer of U.S.-based forces; His Eminence the Metropolitan Chrysostomos of Patras (the city where the Greek War of Independence against the Ottoman Turks began); and Evangelos Marinakis, president of the renowned Olympiacos soccer team, which celebrates its centenary this year.

Among the honorary marshals were Christopher Papakaliatis, creator of, and actor in, the acclaimed Greek-island-set classical music-related Netflix series Maestro; and the legendary Pyrros Dimas, a three-time Olympic gold medalist in weightlifting for Greece and also the technical director of USA Weightlifting in Colorado Springs, Colo.

As usually is the case, the politics of the parade were of interest. Locally, while many people are questioning Eric Adams’s ability to run for re-election, he’s plainly committed to being the Mayor as long as he’s in office. His day had already included appearances at a Black church in Jamaica, Queens, and a Passover food-distribution event at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

Joining Adams, who wore a blue NYPD ball cap and a blue fleece jacket under an unzipped navy “Mayor Adams” jacket, was NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, who wore an elegant navy topcoat and a gold chain necklace that included a shell-like heart-shaped pendant. Both Hizzoner and Tisch waved Greek flags and posed with the NYPD St. Paul’s Society for officers of the Eastern (Greek) Orthodox faith.

Among the other solons present were two honored guests of the parade: Senator Charles Schumer, who walked solo, without the bullhorn-carrying aide who often joins him for parades, and Democratic State Senator Andrew Gounardes, who is himself Greek-American and hails from Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. Joining Gounardes in the line of march were his wife and two young sons. State Senator Mike Gianaris of Queens, the son of Greek immigrants, was also on hand.

On the Republican side, Greek-American Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis, representing Staten Island and parts of Brooklyn, was in attendance, though easy to overlook without an entourage and dressed all in black.

Curiously, none of Adams’s challengers was present for an event celebrating democracy both old and new, though members of Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa’s Guardian Angels did march in the parade. Sliwa is the only declared candidate in the Republican race for mayor.

Others making the journey up Fifth Avenue included a veritable Delian League of Greek Orthodox churches and schools, including 2024 National Blue Ribbon Award winner A. Fantis Parochial School of Brooklyn; professional and cultural groups on floats; marching bands; traditionally costumed women and men; and more.

In the words of Henry Miller, writing in his 1941 masterpiece, The Colossus of Maroussi, “To those who think that Greece does not matter today, let me say that they could not make a bigger mistake. Today, like old Greece, is of the utmost importance for anyone looking to find himself.”