_______ Lynbrook/east rockaway ______
HERALD Also serving Bay Park
lynbrook native appointed judge
His essay was the winner
learning to play the market
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Vol. 33 No. 29
July 16 - 22, 2026
$1.00
Lynbrook gets $850,000 grant for hockey rink By KAylA DECHTER kdechter@liherald.com
Courtesy Titans Football & Cheer
Titans President Ralph Vallarella and Cheer Director Maria Dente-Higgins with some of the boys and girls of Titans Football & Cheer.
Titans’ annual carnival raises $33K and draws thousands to Greis Park By KAylA DECHTER kdechter@liherald.com
Despite soaring temperatures over the July Fourth weekend, thousands of people filled Greis Park for four days of rides, games, food and community spirit during the Lynbrook Titans’ annual Carnival — a tradition that has become a fixture of the Lynbrook summer while raising thousands of dollars for the organization’s youth football and cheer programs. According to Titans President Ralph Vallarella, the carnival drew more than 3,000 visitors during its four-day run from July 2 through 5. Through the organization’s agreement with Dreamland Amusements, the Titans received more than $33,000 as their
share of ride-ticket and unlimited-ridebracelet sales, making the event the program’s largest fundraiser of the year. “We were battling a heat wave, but our community still came out and showed its support,” Vallarella said. “We’re incredibly grateful. Every year it gets a little bigger, and it’s become something families really look forward to.” After pausing in the 1990s — due to taking part in other events — the carnival returned in 2019 when village officials, Dreamland Amusements and the Titans partnered to revive it. Since then, Vallarella said, it has grown from a small parking-lot event into four busy days at Greis Park, drawing Lynbrook residents as well as residents of ConTinueD on Page 10
W h e n 1 0 - ye a r- o l d O we n Burkhart steps onto the outdoor roller hockey rink in Lynbrook’s Greis Park, his most challenging opponents isn’t always the other team. Sometimes it’s the sun. “The sun is always in my eyes because I play goalie,” Owen said, “and it makes it hard to see the puck.” For Owen and hundreds of other players who lace up their roller skates to take part in the L y n b r o o k Ro l l e r H o c k e y League each year, relief could be on the way. The village will receive an $850,000 federal Community Project Funding grant, secured by U.S. Rep. Laura Gillen, to help construct an allweather canopy over the roller hockey rink. The project is expected to make the facility usable year-round while creating space for expanded youth sports, community events and police outreach programs. Community Project Funding allows members of Congress to request federal funding for local infrastructure and community projects. “These resources will help transfor m the public roller
rink into a year-round, multiuse facility, preserving an important community asset and ensuring it remains an accessible space for the families who depend on it,” Gillen wrote in an email to the Herald. “Beyond expanding recreational opportunities, the transformed rink will also strengthen community connections.” Lynbrook Police Chief Brian Paladino, who has been president of the Roller Hockey League for the past three years, said he got the idea for the rink roof when he learned about the federal grant opportunity. “In the summer, it’s basically unusable because it’s so hot during the day,” Paladino said of the Greis Park rink. “Then, in the winter, snow keeps us off the rink. This canopy opens the door to year-round programming.” Paladino assembled an application after researching the cost of installing a canopy, and, he said, Gillen called him after reviewing the proposal. “She loved the idea as a hockey mom herself,” Paladino said. “She said, ‘I’d love to go forward with the grant.’” The federal funding will cover roughly half of the estiConTinueD on Page 2