34 THE QUEENS COURIER • FEBRUARY 13, 2014 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.queenscourier.com brought to you by SCOTT BARON ASSOCICATES, P.C. Attorneys & Counselors at Law 1-866-WAS-HURT (866) 927-4878 718.738.9800 star OF queens SCOTT BARON’S STAR OF QUEENS PHOTO COURTESY OF FACEBOOK CRISTINA FURLONG CO-FOUNDER OF MAKE QUEENS SAFER COMMUNITY SERVICE: Following “too many” pedestrian deaths, Furlong and her group, Make Queens Safer, are trying to target reckless driving, one roadway at a time. “Pedestrians sometimes don’t have the tools they need, they were never educated on the danger,” she said. Her group is focusing on an education program, reaching out to everyone from the borough’s youth to local elected offi cials. The program includes a safe driver pledge for drivers to acknowledge patience and eliminate distraction while on the roads. BACKGROUND: Furlong is a 10-year resident of Queens, currently living in Jackson Heights. She is an avid cycler and works as a tour guide for Bike the Big Apple, which provides bike tours throughout the fi ve boroughs. “As a cyclist, I’ve always been interested in safety. But when Laura Newman, Make Queens Safer co-founder posted a boy was killed by a drunk driver and put a call to action, I was 100 percent on board,” Furlong said. “We had to do something.” FAVORITE MEMORY: “The best thing that’s come out of this is being able to support families who have suffered a lot,” Furlong said. “Mothers whose children were killed by drivers, they have no place to go.” After a vigil the group hosted for pedestrian victims, Mayor Bill de Blasio held a press conference in Queens to announce his vision of zero pedestrian fatalities. “That was a memorable thing,” Furlong said. “Of all places, he chose Queens, recognizing that we have the highest pedestrian injury rate in the city.” BIGGEST CHALLENGE: For Furlong, the biggest challenge her group faces is getting people to change their consciousness about reckless driving, she said. They frequently stop drivers on the street to relay safe driving tips, and aren’t always warmly welcomed. “But we need to establish a responsibility behind the wheel,” she said. INSPIRATION: “I think inspiration comes from the people,” Furlong said, referring to parents, family members and friends who have lost loved ones due to reckless driving. “They’re always available and working so hard with us. I want them to know, hopefully, we’ll change things,” she said. ADVANCED ENGLISH and PROFESSIONAL TRAINING for FEDERAL CAREER OPPORTUNITIES Native speakers of critical languages are in high demand in the U.S. government. EHLS provides full scholarships to train advanced English speakers to be eective communicators and strong candidates for federal jobs. Courses and training take place at Georgetown University in Washington, DC. 10:00 AM-12:00 PM 9:00-11:00 AM Central Library, Jamaica 1:30-3:30 PM www.ehlsprogram.org 202-384-1265 Full scholarships available for US citizens with a college degree who are native speakers of Amharic Arabic Balochi Bambara Dari Hausa Hindi Kazakh Kyrgyz Mandarin Pashto Persian Farsi Punjabi Somali Tajik Tamashek Turkish Urdu Uzbek Yoruba Visit with us in New York! Monday, Feb. 24 2:30-4:30 PM Woodside Library Thursday, Feb. 27 Chatham Square Library Wednesday, Feb. 26 Bay Ridge Library Tuesday, Feb. 25 10:30 AM-12:30 PM Highlawn Library 5:00-7:00 PM Mid-Manhattan Library Providing Home Health Aides & Personal Care Aides Service for over 35 Years. Home Care Services which includes: • Personal Hygiene, Grooming, Meal Preparation & Feeding, Bathing, Dressing, Accompanying to Doctors Appointments. • Nursing Services, which includes: Aide Supervision, Patient Physical Assessment, Medication Set up and Monitoring, Health Education and Home Safety. • 24 hours a day/7 days a week - Hourly or live-in options available. Contact us for more details! TEL:718-261-6400 EMAIL:[email protected] WWW.LYNNHOMECARE.COM
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