By Matthew Monks
Mayor Bloomberg and Emmy-nominated actress Melina Kanakaredis were in the 30th Avenue park for a brief ceremony in which musicians, dancers and a jubilant crowd waving tiny Greek flags welcomed the flame during the latest leg of its 78,000-mile odyssey around the globe.
New York's 34-mile relay launched from Astoria because it is the heart of the city's Hellenic community with a density of Greeks second only to Athens, which hosts the Olympics Aug. 13-29.
Unable to make it home this summer, George Mitsos was among the scores of Greeks from around the city who traveled to Astoria to get close to the Games.
With the blue and white Greek flag draped over his shoulders, the Staten Island resident said he would rush home to see the flame travel through his borough in the afternoon.
“This is a lifetime experience,” Mitsos said. “If I were able to catch it three times, I would go.”
Jamaica, Queens-native Bob Beamon, who smashed the long-jump record in the 1968 Games, was the first torchbearer of the day, carrying the flame from the park after waving to the crowd beside a statue of Athena, patron goddess of Athens.
He passed the flame to Gina Strachan, granddaughter of Olympic legend Jesse Owens, who said she was nervous and excited minutes before touching her torch to Beamon's on 30th Avenue.
“It felt great,” Beamon said afterward.
A few blocks away, Todd Bilgore held his torch high as he walked briskly down Steinway Street. After passing the flame, the Brooklyn native kissed his wife and children and wiped tears away from his eyes.
“It was very emotional, an unbelievable feeling,” said Bilgore, who almost died from cancer two years ago.
Donald Trump, Sean “P.Diddy” Combs, and Jets quarterback Boomer Esiason were among the 140 torchbearers privileged to carry the flame a 400-meter length. During the 12-hour relay, it passed through all five boroughs before ending in Times Square, where it was greeted by a New Year's Eve-sized crowd.
The flame traveled from Astoria to Jackson Heights and Woodside, then on to Elmhurst, Maspeth and Ridgewood before turning into Brooklyn.
New York, which is a finalist for the 2012 Olympics, joined Los Angeles, St. Louis and Atlanta as one four U.S. cities to host the flame during its 26-country tour.
Reach reporter Matthew Monks by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 156.
