Brian Palladino
The Lynbrook Roller Hockey League is a youth roller hockey organization founded in 1998 by current Lynbrook Village Mayor Alan Beach. At the time, Beach was a young father who wanted to coach his two sons and their friends in the sport he loved.
The league is based at the Hockey Rink Complex in the southwest corner of Grace Park. The Lynbrook Roller Hockey Complex includes a rink, scoreboard, fan viewing area, hockey shed and adjacent parking. The facility was built after Beach and other hockey-minded parents won a bond from the village in the late 1990s, and the construction of the complex transformed a previously underutilized gravel parking lot into a hockey lover's dream parking spot.
The construction of the hockey rink coincided with the construction of the Lynbrook Village Pool across from Grace Park, which opened at roughly the same time, two projects that make Grace Park a treasured spot enjoyed by Lynbrook residents to this day.
The hockey league has thrived ever since its inception, introducing many area children to the joys of hockey. With financial support from Councilman Brian Curran and the village, the league went on hiatus last fall for a much-needed renovation of the rink.
The renovation consisted of a resurfacing of the rink, replacement dasher boards and new hockey nets. This, combined with a state-of-the-art scoreboard replaced in 2021, makes the rink look new.
The League is extremely grateful for the financial support it has received from local government officials, but one thing is still missing to complete the League's legitimacy. It was an automated external defibrillator.
In late 2024, the league's board of directors began considering purchasing AEDs in case of cardiac emergencies at the rink. After a short period of research, league president Brian Paladino was able to secure a grant through the Frank J. Antun Foundation. Following advice from the Lynbrook Fire Department, the league purchased AED units of the type carried by local ambulances.
A passionate advocate for the Frank J. Antun Foundation, established in 1986, is the legacy of the Antun family, who owned and operated a number of successful restaurants and catering establishments.
As stated on FoundationCenter.org, the foundation’s goal is to “fund primarily health organizations, especially cancer treatment organizations, but also children, youth, social services, and services for the blind and hearing impaired.”
Since its inception, the Foundation has donated to many youth organizations on Long Island, and the League is extremely grateful for the donation. This donation coincides with the passage of New York State law S.7424/A366A, which requires all camps and youth sports leagues to have AED plans in place by October 2025.
Thanks to the generous support of the Frank J. Antun Foundation and the foresight of Lynbrook Roller Hockey League leadership, Lynbrook Roller Hockey League players and fans can now comply with new state law and have the peace of mind that an AED will be available whenever they are at the rink.
