Thursday, October 1, 2026
The Freeport Armory will be getting much needed renovations thanks to $300,000 in funding coming to the Village of Freeport from a recent Nassau County grant. The funds will address building concerns and plans for programs at the location.
On July 27, Nassau County Legislator Debra Mulé helped secure the unanimous passage of a Community Revitalization Program grant for Freeport, which will provide funding for the renovations. The funds will be applied toward continuing work to establish a trade school on the property, address asbestos testing and monitoring, provide window, door and roof replacements and install electrical and heating services in the building.
The Freeport Armory was initially donated by the Village of Freeport in 1949 for U.S. Army and Navy personnel to use. The National Guard used the Armory afterwards, until the property fell into disrepair and the National Guard closed it in 2011. Following nearly a decade of vacancy and disputes over ownership of the property between the Village of Freeport and the Cedarmore Corporation, a local nonprofit organization, village officials were granted ownership of the property.
Since then, gradual renovations have taken place. In recent years, the location has been largely used as a site for various community events, including the annual Nassau County Veterans Stand Down event, a charitable effort for local veterans.
Initial phases of the renovation project have made way for the Armory to host the Rising Stars Youth Foundation, which seeks to change the lives of local youth and their families through team sports and education. Rising Stars utilizes 16,000 square feet of the Armory, where they host activities including basketball, volleyball, pickleball and more, serving as a community sports hub for Freeport and surrounding communities.
“Freeport’s Armory has unlimited potential to become a multifaceted hub for the Village and our greater region, and these funds will help prepare this historic site for its next phase of service,” Mulé said. “I thank my colleagues for unanimously supporting this latest investment in our community’s future.”
According to legal documents authorizing the grant provided by the Office of Debra Mulé, the Village of Freeport has been given a five year term to oversee and complete the work on the Armory.
