Sunday, November 15, 2026
Freeport residents Joe Higgins and Yaskalia Cesarina Duran were honored during the 2026 Annual Community Heroes Awards Ceremony, hosted by Assemblywoman Judy Griffin. Duran is a Freeport police officer and Higgins is a retired firefighter in addition to participating in other community service opportunities.
The event was hosted at the Rockville Centre Library late last month with various community leaders and sponsors in attendance. The honorees came from the communities that comprise Griffin’s Assembly District 21, which includes Freeport, Baldwin, Baldwin Oaks, East Rockaway, Hempstead, Hewlett, Lynbrook, Malverne, Oceanside, Rockville Centre, South Hempstead and Valley Stream.
Higgins, 65, is a former New York City firefighter and has proudly lived in Freeport since 1969. He helped found and operate the Freeport Police Athletic League, PAL, boxing program in 1997, which has evolved in to a strong mentorship program for over 30 years.
The boxing gym, currently located in Bishop Frank O. White Park in Freeport, has served hundreds of kids starting with 12-year-olds all the way to young adults, some of whom become boxing trainers and mentors for their younger counterparts.
For Higgins, the most impactful part of his service is being able to see how former trainees grow in to responsible and mature adults.
“It’s unbelievable how many of them have grown,” he said. “They come back, show their kids the gym. …It’s fun to see the old alumnis pop in for a workout.”
Higgins also mentioned that the boxing gym has also been able to improve the quality of the community and many of the people in it.
“We’re always ready to lift up the ones that need help,” Higgins explained. “We’re tough in there, but we also want them to tell us what’s going on in their lives. We can’t help you if you don’t tell us something is bothering you outside the gym. So that’s the trust we have in there.”
Higgins told the Herald that the Community Heroes Award he has received is indicative of not only the work he has done, but the work put in by all those who have attended and worked at the gym.
The rest of the honorees included other first responders, veterans, educators, coaches, mentors, advocates, health professionals and business owners. Griffin said in a press release that the “generous actions” of the award recipients have meaningful impacted and inspired those around them.
