Mike Sergio's name was up in letters on a huge sign that stretched across Broadway in Astoria, where the film writer, producer and director grew up. And as he admired the proof that he's a local boy who made good, he whispered, "Davey, is this cool or what?"

His younger brother, Dave, was a police officer in the 106th Precinct in Queens. He was Sergio's biggest fan. He died after a long bout with cancer in 1986. Sergio pointed to the Thomas M. Quinn funeral parlor on Broadway.

"That's where he was laid out," he said.

I met Sergio in 1986 after he parachuted out of the night sky above Shea Stadium in the 6th game of the World Series between the Mets and the Boston Red Sox. The Mets won that memorable night, and so did Sergio, capturing the imagination of bug-eyed fans --incuding myself-- by landing between the pitcher's mound and first base.

And here he was now standing in the middle of traffic on Broadway looking up at a 48-foot-long sign hung over the street from the N train subway station. It was designed by Sergio's son, Chris, 23, a recent graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design.

It read, " 'Under Hellgate Bridge.' A film by Michael Sergio." The movie will open May 11th at the Regal Kaufman Astoria Cinema 14 in Astoria alongside the Kaufman film studios.

"Come on, let's take a walk around the old neighborhood," Sergio said after kissing his stepmother, Karen, who came in from Yonkers.

We walked past familiar landmarks like the Parisi family's bakery at 31st Street, stopping in for a chat with Anthony Parisi, who said the bakery opened there 33 years ago.

"Is Walken's bakery still open?" someone asked about the bakery a block away that was run by the family of actor Christopher Walken, who worked behind the counter.

"They closed about five years ago," Parisi said. "The father left it to his youngest son, and he didn't have much interest in it."

Sergio, 51, said his new film, starring several members from the cast of "The Sopranos"- "Pussy" and "Uncle Junior"- was an idea he had three years ago.

"I put an ad in the papers asking for backers, and a guy walked into my office and wrote out a check for $250,000," Sergio said.

What he has written is a New York film, shot in Queens. Sergio loves New York films. His two favorites are "The French Connection" and "The Godfather" because they were perfectly crafted films," he said.

His favorite filmmakers are William Friedkin, Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorcese and Sidney Lumet, all of whom made the city a part of their films.

His producer is Isil Bagdadi, a young woman who graduated from St.John's University and also grew up in Astoria but now lives in Whitestone.

"As soon as I read Michael's script I knew I wanted to be a part of his team," Bagdadi said. "He is a talented man. There are a lot of independent filmmakers, but not many of them can bring their films to the screen."

Sergio has won many Emmys and has directed several film and television specials, including playwright John Ford Noonan's "Night Man at the Sardi Building." He has acted on Broadway in "I Love My Wife" and on television- "Kojak," "Law and Order" and "The Equalizer."

We walked past Trinity Lutheran Church, where Sergio got his early schooling, and then past Long Island City and Bryant high schools.

"I was thrown out of both schools," Sergio said, adding that his love of music got him back on the straight and narrow.

"I played the guitar and sang," he said.

Later he appeared at several of the city's clubs, including Catch A Rising Star, The Bitter End and the Original Improvisation, where he performed for almost 17 years.

"Right now I am numb, even overwhelmed by this film opening. Each day there are 10 victories and 10 defeats," he said. He pulled one of those defeats from his back pocket: a threat by Con Ed to turn off his electricity.

At Astoria Park, under the Hellgate Bridge, which spans the East River, he said, "This is where we shot a lot of the film."

Sergio said his film got the equivalent of a rocket blast-off when it won the top prize at the Nashville Film Festival last year. That got the Regal Cinemas people interested.

"I'm in the game now," he said. "My film is going to be playing in the movie houses alongside 'Pearl Harbor' and 'Bridget Jones' Diary.' But hey, I'm a New York kid, and this is about a city I love."