The fundraiser is aimed at general annual operating costs rather than a single announced capital project. The league’s history records a $400,000 allocation from former Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. in 2016 for LED lighting and solar panels, along with $471,000 in combined state and city grants for fencing and bathroom renovations, according to the league’s records: Throgs Neck Little League.
The league held its latest fundraising effort Aug. 28 at its Throgs Neck field. Nearly 200 people attended Nashville in the Neck, and proceeds were intended to help cover general annual operating costs, the Bronx Times reported.
Music replaced the usual game-night routine
Kickin' Nash provided the entertainment. The five-member group performs in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania and combines country and rock, including songs associated with Luke Combs and Morgan Wallen. Its set was staged from a truck supplied by CAS Auto Body, according to the Bronx Times.
Parents, coaches and volunteers also gathered outside the league’s regular game schedule. Dan O’Connor, the league president, told the Bronx Times that the complex serves players, families and the wider Throggs Neck community.
A longer history of facility needs
The league’s official history records earlier fundraising and capital needs. In 1987, after the bingo hall closed and the league’s generator failed beyond repair, a fundraiser raised enough money to purchase and install a replacement. The history also records a $150,000 grant from Jimmy Vacca in 2012 for a new fence on the senior field, a separate improvement from the current fundraiser, according to Throgs Neck Little League. Those examples, along with the 2016 lighting, solar-panel, fencing and bathroom work described above, distinguish specific infrastructure projects from Nashville in the Neck’s stated purpose of supporting general annual operations.
Infrastructure and flood context
City capital-plan records list a Department of Design and Construction project titled “Throgs Neck Little League- Infrastructure Rehabilitation,” according to the New York City Mayor’s Office of Management and Budget. The same project also appears in the city’s Fiscal Year 2020 Adopted Capital Commitment Plan, according to the agency’s earlier plan.
The cited capital-plan records identify the infrastructure-rehabilitation project but do not specify who is responsible for maintaining the improvements. The city’s Environment & Health Data Portal describes coastal flood risk in Pelham-Throgs Neck as higher than in most neighborhoods and reports that 70.7 percent of residents lived in a hurricane evacuation zone in 2024, according to the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
Additional community events are planned
Following the August event, the league is considering or hoping to host additional bands at the field, possibly beginning next spring, the Bronx Times reported.
A separate Halloween weekend event is planned for Oct. 31 in partnership with New York State Assembly Member Michael Benedetto. The schedule calls for a parade at noon and a costume contest at 2 p.m., with families from across the neighborhood invited, according to the Bronx Times.
