Office of Borough President James P. Molinaro
Staten Island, New York
B.P. Molinaro to hold emergency blood drive in honor of injured firefighter Matthew Long
Critical Blood Shortage Due to Transit Strike and the Holiday Season
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – Borough President James P. Molinaro is holding an emergency blood drive in honor of injured Firefighter Matthew Long, whose parents have urged New Yorkers to give blood in his name. The blood drive will be held on Tuesday, January 3rd, from 9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. in the Brooklyn/Staten Island Blood Services’ new state-of-the-art bloodmobile, which will be parked on the Stuyvesant Place side of Borough Hall.
Firefighter Long was hit by a bus as he bicycled to work in Manhattan during the transit strike. He has undergone several operations that have required blood transfusions.
“Matthew’s parents have asked New Yorkers to give blood in their son’s name, because they see how important blood donation is at a time like this,” said Molinaro. “The simple process of giving blood can quite literally save the life of a relative, a friend, or a neighbor.”
According to The New York Blood Center, donations slow down around the holidays, but with the transit strike canceling blood drives across the City, hospitals are experiencing critical shortages.
“I urge Staten Islanders to come down to Borough Hall on Tuesday and roll up their sleeves and give blood to help a hero,” Molinaro added. “I can think of no greater way to honor one of New York’s Bravest than to give ‘the gift of life.’”
For more information or to schedule an appointment to donate blood on January 3rd, please contact Joanne Nuzzo, the Borough President’s Director of Special Events, at (718) 816- 2133.
December 28, 2005