Suffolk police, DA host youth basketball clinic in Fort Salonga
At North Shore Sports in Fort Salonga, Suffolk police and the DA's office welcomed county kids in grades 1-6 to a basketball clinic built around prevention.
At North Shore Sports in Fort Salonga, Suffolk County police and the district attorney’s office used a basketball clinic to do more than teach dribbling and layups. The Oct. 4, 2025 program, held from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at 469 Fort Salonga Rd. in Northport, welcomed boys and girls in grades 1 through 6 who lived in Suffolk County, placing prevention and mentorship at the center of a local youth-sports afternoon.
The clinic was hosted by Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney in partnership with the Suffolk County Police Department. The setting mattered: North Shore Sports is an indoor facility with basketball courts and youth camps and clinics, giving officers and children a chance to interact in a place built for sports rather than enforcement.
The event fit a broader county strategy that leans on athletics to build trust before problems harden. Suffolk County Police Athletic League says its programs reach more than 20,000 children countywide, and it describes its sports offerings as a way to create positive interactions with police officers while helping steer young people away from gangs, drugs and delinquent behavior. Its outdoor basketball league serves ages 5 to 17 and can involve more than 500 players and coaches over a six-week program, showing that the Fort Salonga clinic was part of a larger pipeline, not an isolated appearance.
That pipeline is supported by the Suffolk County Police Department Community Relations Bureau, which was established on May 1, 2005 and coordinates outreach efforts including Coffee With a Cop, Unity in the Community and other engagement events. Tierney, who was elected district attorney on Nov. 2, 2021 and assumed office on Jan. 1, 2022, also created a Community Outreach Bureau, underscoring how the prosecutor’s office has tied public safety work to community contact.
The county has been pushing youth sports in other ways, too. Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine announced funding applications for Youth Team Sports programs in 2024 through the Suffolk County Youth Bureau, reflecting a wider effort to use organized sports to connect with children across Suffolk. In Fort Salonga, the basketball clinic turned that policy idea into a simple afternoon on the court, where the county’s prevention message was delivered through a ball, a hoop and a room full of young players.
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