November 9, 2011
Greek-Americans and their children began moving out of Astoria decades ago, abandoning the Queens neighborhood that once boasted the world's largest population of Hellenic immigrants for the suburbs or their homeland.
But amid the political and economic turmoil that has shaken Greece this year, that tide may again be shifting. The evidence—only anecdotal so far—can be seen in the clientele at Immigration Advocacy Services, an Astoria-based nonprofit where many "older clients are coming in with questions like, 'How can I get my nephew here from Greece?'" said director Debra Gilmore.
"The economy is terrible there," Ms. Gilmore said. "Even if they have jobs, it's tough, and we've seen whole families that are coming back."
And it's also apparent in a surge of Greek immigrant students at St. Demetrios on 30th Drive, a private school where students can study Greek dance, Greek music and the language itself.
"Most of them are Greek-Americans that moved to Greece years ago and recently have returned because of the issues that are going on there," said Anastasios Koularmanis, the principal of St. Demetrios.
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