With his latest decisions, the mayor of the Big Apple is ignoring Polonia, the Polish diaspora. On the first Sunday of October, he did not show up at the annual Pulaski Parade. He also gave up hosting a Polonia gathering at his residence, Gracie Mansion. On top of that, he counted Poland, a Central European country, among the nations of Eastern Europe, which outraged many of our compatriots.
***
“More than a million Americans of Polish descent live in New York State, and there are hundreds of thousands across the three neighboring states. Polonia has helped build this city for generations. Yet Mayor Mamdani didn’t even bother to attend the Pulaski Parade, and now his administration apparently believes that lumping us together in some generic ‘Eastern European’ celebration is an acceptable substitute for the Polish heritage event that the previous mayor started at Gracie Mansion,” Grzegorz Fryc, a Polonia leader, activist and promoter of Polish culture, tells Nowy Dziennik. He adds that this is yet another slap in the face from Zohran Mamdani to the Polish American community.
“This is not only a sign of deep disrespect, but also proof of a shocking lack of cultural and historical awareness on the part of the mayor’s office. Poles, Ukrainians and Russians have distinct national identities, histories and complicated relationships shaped by centuries of conflict. Trying to include all three communities in one shared celebration, and ignoring those realities, shows how out of touch with reality this administration is,” our interviewee says. He also asks aloud whether the mayor’s office would consider replacing separate Jewish and Palestinian cultural celebrations with a single, general Middle Eastern event and expect everyone to be happy about it.
“Of course not. So why should Polonia agree to have our identity erased under some geographic label that is convenient for them?” he wonders aloud, posing another rhetorical question. He also stresses that Polish immigrants have made an enormous contribution to New York’s cultural, economic and social life, and will not allow themselves to be treated like a stepchild.
Many of our compatriots share Fryc’s views. But there are also somewhat milder voices on the subject, from activists who do not want to inflame relations between Polonia and the New York mayor too much.
“I think we have to look to the future and invite him again to next year’s parade, especially since it will be the 90th. Then we’ll see how he behaves,” said Ryszard Zawisny, chairman of the Pulaski Parade’s General Committee and one of the co-organizers of Polonia’s meetings with the previous mayor at Gracie Mansion.
“I wasn’t going to go, but I am going to that Thursday meeting called ‘Eastern European‘ to talk with his advisers or representatives and persuade them that Mayor Mamdani should return to this tradition, organize a meeting with Polonia after all, and take part in the January sashing of the Grand Marshal of next year’s Pulaski Parade,” Ryszard Zawisny assured. He also added that, in his opinion, overly harsh criticism would only discourage the mayor from Polonia even more.
Consul General Mateusz Sakowicz spoke in a similar tone. He also plans to attend Thursday’s meeting called ‘Eastern European.’
“If there is an opportunity, I will ask the mayor about his perspective on and view of Polonia. I will try to persuade him to organize a breakfast or an evening meeting with representatives of our ethnic group, combined with presenting proclamations to distinguished activists. I think that dialogue is needed here more than conflict. Besides, the role of diplomacy is to reach various partners, listen to them, persuade them of our case, and show the contribution Polonia has made to building the city, the metropolitan area, the state and all of America,” the consul general stressed.
Author: Wojtek Maślanka
Photo: Marc A. Hermann / MTA / CC
Source: Nowy Dziennik
