52 THE QUEENS COURIER • KIDS & EDUCATION • MAY 31, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
kids & education
Courtesy Queens District Attorney’s offi ce
Rockaway youth enjoy day of tennis at Flushing Meadows
Queens District Attorney Richard A.
Brown, along with the United States
Tennis Association (USTA) and the New
York Junior Tennis and Learning, hosted
770 Far Rockaway public school students
last week at the 21st annual “Say
Yes to Tennis - No to Violence” Day
at the USTA Billie Jean King National
Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows-
Corona Park.
Th e students are enrolled in nine public
schools in Far Rockaway where they participate
in the District Attorney’s STAR
Track (Straight Talk About Risks) anti-violence
program.
“For over two decades, our challenge
and goal has been to provide the youth
of Far Rockaway with a positive alternative
to the deadly culture of gun violence
which permeates their lives on an almost
daily basis,” Brown said. “Our message is
a simple one: to teach them that tennis,
aside from being a great sport, can teach
them important lessons for the game of
life. Learning now the principles of fair
play and self-control on a tennis court
may very well keep them from later on
becoming one of life’s casualties in a court
of law.”
Th e day-long outing culminates the
District Attorney’s year-long STAR Track
anti-violence program. As part of the
program, assistant district attorneys –
as well as other members of the District
Attorney’s Offi ce, members of the New
York City Corporation Counsel’s Offi ce
and the Legal Aid Society – have visited
nine Far Rockaway schools – from elementary
through high school – throughout
the school year to talk about the risks
of guns, drugs, gangs and how to make
the right choices.
Th e program’s curriculum is designed
to drive down the crime rate and build up
self-esteem, confi dence and the quality of
life for the students.
Th e event features on-court activities
for the students with the National Tennis
Center pros. Th e children also receive
T-shirts to commemorate the event,
along with introductory tennis instruction
and lunch.
Th e event was made possible by the following
groups: USTA Billie Jean King
National Tennis Center, USTA, USTA
Eastern, the New York Junior Tennis
and Learning, Modell’s Sporting Goods,
Queens District Attorney’s Office,
Queens Corporation Counsel, the Legal
Aid Society, the New York Mets, the
New York City Department of Parks
and Recreation, New York City Police
Department, NYPD’s Patrol Borough
Queens North, the 110th Police Precinct,
New York City Department of Education,
Corona Volunteer Ambulance and the
Brooklyn Cyclones.
Courtesy of the Queens District
Attorney's offi ce