Today, we introduce a few of the nominees who have already made New York a better place through their selfless actions and unflagging dedication.

Champion teen equestrienne Ashley Martinez was the only one inside a Staten Island riding stable when the roof blew off from a nearby explosion - but she reined in her own fear and helped lead 16 panicked horses to safety.

"They were my main concern," she said of that morning, Feb. 21, when a barge offloading gasoline at Port Mobil exploded.

Martinez, then 16, was cleaning stalls in the barn at the 3D Stables, less than a mile from the Exxon Mobil facility, when she heard a thunderous blast.

"The roof lifted. It was very loud. I was scared," she recalled. The windows blew in, and "it was smoky and hot. I thought the whole barn was going to catch on fire. The horses were scared. They were jumping all around, screaming."

Megan Delmar, owner of the 3D Stables where Ashley takes lessons and volunteers, was in Manhattan that morning, and her husband, Donald, a Sanitation Department worker, had just gotten home after a shift and was asleep.

Ashley ran to get him and the Delmars' daughter, Kelly, 5, and then raced back to start leading the horses out.

"By the time he came down, she already had most of them out of the barn," Megan said.

"When horses are panicking, they're not safe because they kick out and you have no control over them," she said. "She didn't care about her own safety; she wanted to make sure they would be fine, no matter what."

John Martinez, Ashley's dad, nominated her for the Liberty Young Heart Medal.

The soft-spoken teen, who is entering her senior year at high school, said the first horse she led out was her favorite - Pearl, a 24-year-old pony.

"She's a sweetheart," she said. "She's adorable and she loves me."