The New York Post

By FRANKIE EDOZIEN Post Correspondent

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic - Call him Mayor Merengue.
Mayor Bloomberg was bitten by the infectious merengue dance bug yesterday just moments after he stepped off his private jet for an official visit.

While a Dominican folk troupe performed a welcome number, Bloomberg shook hands with local dignitaries and his aides began dancing.

The mayor then joined in the swaying, taking the hand of Ramona Hernandez, a member of his panel for educational policy, and he spun her around several times.

Warming to the dance, Bloomberg gave Santo Domingo mayor Roberto Salcedo a run for his money on the tarmac, almost outdoing him on Salcedo’s own soil.

“He is a very good dancer,” Salcedo said afterward.
“I thought I was going to be able to show him something about how to dance, but you can see he’s been practicing,” Salcedo added.

The mayor flew to the Dominican Republic with six Dominican community leaders from New York to attend the opening of the Pan American Games and a somber memorial to American Airlines Flight 587, which crashed in Queens two years ago just after taking off for the island.

After leaving the airport, Bloomberg headed for a local hotel, where he was greeted by U.S. Ambassador Hans Hertell.
Bloomberg and Deputy Mayor Dan Doctoroff attended a breakfast for International Olympic Committee officials and organizers.

After breakfast, Bloomberg drove an hour southwest to visit a sparkling new marble memorial to the doomed flight.
The 25-foot-wide structure, lined with palm trees, has the names of all 265 people killed on Flight 587 etched on eight panels.

“It would be nice if maybe someday in New York, we can pull all the families together and do something appropriate there as well. I have always thought memorials like this, that are simple and tasteful and get you to think, are the right way to remember,” Bloomberg said.