After years of planning and months of construction, the Farmingdale Unit of the Nassau County Police Activity League (PAL) is planning to unveil its new clubhouse, tomorrow, June 19.

The new structure, located on N. Front Street replaces an old house that was demolished, and will be introduced to the community during a ribbon cutting ceremony expected to be attended by the league's youngsters and their parents, dignitaries, sponsors of the unit, the Nassau County PAL executive board, the commanding officer of Nassau County PAL, heads of the Nassau County Police Department, and members of the Farmingdale Youth Board.

"The building is basically twice as big as it was," said Frank McDonald, director of the Farmingdale Unit of PAL last week, expressing excitement about the completion of the clubhouse. The new building project was spurred by a need for more storage and meeting space due to annually increasing numbers of children participating in PAL's sports and other recreational programs. Over 3,000 Farmingdale youngsters participate in a range of nine activities offered by the local unit.

The new building, which was financed by the Nassau County PAL, is 25 ft. X 50 ft., and was constructed by Dormer Giants of Bethpage. It contains four large storage closets for sports and recreational equipment, two large meeting rooms, as well as two bathrooms and a kitchen. "We needed the storage. We've gotten so big," said McDonald, adding that the additional meeting space will enable the league to easier organize the children's sports teams. As the baseball season gets under way, the new meeting rooms and closets will be quite handy in organizing into teams the 1,200 youngsters involved in the program.

Because the clubhouse is a house, it blends with the residential community in which it is situated, and according to McDonald, PAL has gotten much positive feedback about the look of the new building.

The old building, which like the new one was two stories, consisted of a meeting room downstairs, and a bathroom and two small storage rooms upstairs. The meeting room was the site of regular coaches meetings, and with programs such as basketball consisting of upwards of 15 coaches, room was often at a premium, noted Gary DiApice, president of the Farmingdale PAL unit, when interviewed at the start of the construction project during the fall. Storing uniforms and equipment for the youngsters in the small storage rooms was also a challenge, he noted.

The Farmingdale PAL unit began working to obtain a larger building two years ago, according to DiApice. They broke ground in November, 1998. Demolition and rebuilding was favored over adding a dormer, DiApice noted, because the building, which dated back to the 1800s, was "tired."

The Farmingdale unit of PAL was started in 1957, with Police Officer Walter Scholl as its first Nassau County police liaison. At the time, it was called Police Boys Club (PBC) and offered boxing, baseball and basketball to about 200 children. The name was eventually changed to Police Athletic League, and then to Police Activity League. In 1973, The Farmingdale unit acquired the old clubhouse through the assistance of the Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) at a cost of $2,500. Police Officer Frank Darcey was the liaison instrumental in making that happen, according to DiApice.

Like in the earliest days, police officers are still in charge of each unit. Today, Farmingdale PAL offers an array of sports - basketball, bowling, karate, kick-line, twirling, lacrosse, baseball, and track - as well as a new youth leadership program to children in kindergarten through twelfth grade. The sports are played in school gymnasiums, as well as on school and community fields, and the leadership program meets in the clubhouse. Basketball is by far the largest program, followed by baseball and lacrosse, according to DiApice, who noted that all of the sports activities are in high demand.

According to McDonald, the construction of the unit's new clubhouse was made possible by the cooperation of many. "We had tremendous help from the Mayor of Farmingdale and the village's board of trustees," he said, adding that he wished to specially thank Andrew Koukos, superintendent of the Village of Farmingdale's Building Department, for sharing his expertise. He also lauded Farmingdale PAL's executive board for their cooperation, the Farmingdale School District for allowing the coaches to use Howitt School for meeting space during the construction, and Vincent Vescova, Jr., president of Dormer Giants, for a job well-done. He also thanked Starkie Brothers of Farmingdale for the donation of shrubbery.

McDonald believes that, by increasing PAL's capabilities, the new clubhouse will benefit the local community, as the organization continues to serve as a positive outlet for youth. "PAL is so important to the youth. The youth need something to do after school," he said. "Our whole goal is to keep youth off the streets and give them something to do."