Thursday, October 1, 2026
The Seaford community came together last Friday night at Seaman’s Neck Park to support 17-year-old Nico Fiorello, who was injured in a swimming accident at Jones Beach last month.
Nearly 300 people attended an event that included a friendly softball game between the Seaford Little League coaches and the Seaford PAL lacrosse coaches. Hot dogs and hamburgers were available for spectators as well as several raffle items, and there was a live auction. Top prizes for the night included Billy Joel concert tickets and New York Rangers memorabilia.
“The event was a great success,” said Chrissy Del Prete, one of its organizers. “I never thought this many people would show up.”
According to Nico’s mother, Lorraine Fiorello, Del Prete’s son and Nico have been friends since they met in third grade. “It’s in her nature to do something like this,” Fiorello said of Del Prete. “She is such a nice person.”
Lorraine and her husband, Joseph Fiorello, said they were awed by the community’s support for their son. “I am blown away by the amount of people that have shown up,” she said. “The community has gone above and beyond. Never in a million years did I think this many people would come out to support our son.”
The majority of the $15,000 raised at the event came from the raffle items and the live auction. According to John Theissen, who was in charge of the raffle and auction, there were roughly 35 raffle items and 15 auction items.
Even with medical insurance, Nico’s rehabilitation will cost a lot of money. “This is going to help us immensely,” Lorraine said as she listened to the bidding during the live auction.
“The bills have already started to come in,” Joseph added, “and there are a lot of zeros at the end of them.”
Lorraine said she was shocked by the support her family has received. “We’ll get text messages from people we’ve never even met before, giving support to Nico and our family,” she said.
Joe Ippoliti, the Seaford Little League president, took part in the softball game — one of roughly 20 players representing the league. According to Ippoliti, Nico and his son grew up playing baseball together. “The event was just amazing to be a part of,” he said.
