Thursday, October 1, 2026
For Billy Graziose, soccer has been part of his family’s life for years. His son, Michael, 11, began playing in Glen Cove’s intramural soccer program in kindergarten and now plays travel soccer. Graziose’s 4-year-old daughter is already playing, too. Graziose volunteers with travel teams and serves on the Glen Cove Junior Soccer Board.
“Soccer really is a big thing to me and my family,” Graziose said.
Now, the field where generations of Glen Cove children have played is slated for a major upgrade after New York state awarded the city $1 million for improvements to Pascucci Soccer Field, Glen Cove’s only public soccer field. The funding will be used for facility improvements and upgrades to the playing surface and recreation space.
For Graziose, the investment represents an opportunity to give Glen Cove’s young soccer players a home field comparable to the facilities they encounter when traveling elsewhere on Long Island.
“We go to other places. This past week I went to Hempstead and they had a beautiful turf field and park,” he said. “And sometimes we play on grass and it’s not in the best of shape.”
Graziose said soccer has become deeply embedded in Glen Cove’s community life. Residents have gathered for soccer watch parties, including one at Pascucci where a 20-foot inflatable screen was set up for residents to watch a game together.
“This is a community that really loves and appreciates soccer,” he said.
Glen Cove Youth Services Director Spiro Tsirkas said the state money will allow the city to install a turf field.
“Bringing this turf field to the City of Glen Cove will not only benefit our youth, but adults in our community as well who enjoy the sport of soccer,” Tsirkas said. “This upgrade has been a long time coming, and these State funds will make it possible. We’re looking forward to getting it installed!”
Graziose credited Tsirkas for his years of helping revitalize Pascucci and said he is eager for the next phase of the field’s transformation.
“I can’t wait for that to be our home field,” Graziose said. “I really can’t. I’m so excited for it.”
The soccer field isn’t the only Glen Cove institution receiving an infusion of state money.
The city was also awarded $287,324 through New York’s Volunteer Fire Infrastructure & Response Equipment Grant Program, or V-FIRE, funding that Glen Cove Fire Chief Justin Valeo said will allow the department to finish replacing its aging radios.
“This funding is going to allow us to replace the last of our aging radios,” Valeo said.
The department protects roughly 28,000 residents, Valeo said, and reliable communications are among firefighters’ most important tools during an emergency. The city has helped the department begin replacing its older radios over the past several years, he added, but the grant will allow that process to be completed.
“The city of Glen Cove and its administration has been super helpful over the past couple years to help us start replacing these, but this grant is going to allow it to come to a close,” Valeo said.
The department also uses multiband radios on its trucks, which allow Glen Cove firefighters to communicate with neighboring agencies that may operate on different frequencies and bands. Valeo said one such radio costs approximately $10,000.
“That gives us that inter-agency operability that we’re looking for,” Valeo said.
Glen Cove’s award is part of $25 million in V-FIRE capital funding distributed to 65 volunteer fire departments and districts across New York.
The program, administered by the state Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, can fund improvements to fire stations and training facilities as well as equipment intended to improve firefighter health, safety and emergency-response capabilities.
Mayor Pamela Panzenbeck said the soccer-field investment would benefit Glen Cove’s young athletes and families for years.
“On behalf of the City of Glen Cove, I want to thank everyone involved in obtaining this significant $1 million investment in Pascucci Soccer Field,” Panzenbeck wrote in a statement. “This funding will help us continue to improve an important recreational facility that is enjoyed by so many of our young athletes and families.”
Gov. Kathy Hochul said the state’s investment in Pascucci was intended to preserve a community gathering place and expand recreational opportunities.
“Soccer brings people together across generations and neighborhoods, and every young person deserves a safe place to play,” Hochul said. “Pascucci Soccer Field has long been a gathering place for Glen Cove residents, and my $1 million in support will help preserve and improve the city’s only public soccer field for the families who rely on it.”
