Contact: Colleen Roche (212) 788-2958 or Samantha I. Lugo (212) 788-9364
Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani today participated in the Opening Ceremonies for the 10th Annual Multiple Sclerosis Walk. The event raised $925, 000 last year, and with seven thousand projected walkers this year, the goal is to raise one million dollars to fight against multiple sclerosis (MS). Due to last year's success, a second walk route was added in Staten Island on Saturday, making it a two day event.
Joining the Mayor were WNBC's Dr. Max Gomez, who served as Master of Ceremonies; WKTU's Dimas Martinez ; actor Ed Burns; actress Joanne Going; and Laura Ferrara, a MS patient who has walked each year in the MS Walk along with her family.
The MS Walk gives walkers the choice to participate in the 12.5, 7.5 or 2.5 mile routes starting at the World Trade Center. All walkers travel through some of the City's most scenic and historic areas, including Grennwich Village, SoHo, Tribeca, Chinatown, Little Italy, the South Street Seaport, Battery Park, and Battery Park City. Those who chose the 12.5 mile route cross the Brooklyn Bridge and follow the Brooklyn Heights Promenade before returning to the World Trade Center.
Multiple sclerosis is a chronic, often disabling disease that attacks the nervous system. It affects everyone differently: symptoms range from numbness to blindness to total paralysis. MS generally strikes people between the ages of 20 and 40.