Summer hasn’t officially arrived yet but New Yorkers are already dripping sweat. Could that be from the reported extreme heat temperatures that exceeded 90 degrees or the excitement of New York’s current sports buzz with the New York Knicks’ championship run and the 2026 FIFA World Cup…?
Either way, disabled fans skirted the heat.
A visitor enjoys an activity in the sensory tent set up by the state at the World Cup watch party. Photo credit: John Benedict, OPWDD.
Last week, Able News was invited to New York State Gov. Kathy Hochul’s first free, large-scale community viewing event for the World Cup, at Stony Brook University, where the Office of the Chief Disability Officer (OCDO) teamed up with the Office for People With Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD), the Office of Mental Health (OMH) and the Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Services (DHSES) to ensure the accessibility, inclusivity and safety for all people with disabilities who came to enjoy the fun.
As a way to advance Gov. Hochul’s “Get Offline, Get Outside” campaign, OPWDD assisted disabled New Yorkers in decompressing and cooling off because “ it can be very overstimulating, all that heat and noise and people,” OPWDD Director of Communications Jennifer O’Sullivan told Able News at the event. Their soft breeze sensory tent, equipped with a resting inflatable, bubble tube lamps and interactive games for children with developmental disabilities, “is a nice, peaceful place,” she said. In addition to the pilot sensory space, OCDO also provided two adult changing tables and a Special Olympics soccer skills clinic experience.
Officials with OPWDD set up the tent earlier this month at a Get Outdoors and Get Together Day in Staten Island.
The state’s next free community viewing event will show the World Cup Final on July 19 at Kensico Dam Plaza in Westchester County. OPWDD plans to set up the tent there too.
These family-friendly viewing events will ensure that the “once-in-a-generation opportunity for New Yorkers” is accessible and inclusive so people of all abilities and from all walks of life can enjoy, stated a press release from the governor’s office.
Kevin Heil, a 26-year-old soccer player on the spectrum who plays for Special Olympics New York, had just finished scoring three goals, getting the ball on the left corner of the net each time, before taking a break. He and his coach, Bob Kinney, were in charge of hyping up the crowd hours before the main event everyone was waiting for—the U.S. men’s national soccer team World Cup debut against Paraguay.
“There’s so much to learn and there’s so much unpacked potential,” said Special Olympics New York Associate Director of School and Community Programming Rebecca Bressler. “It’s also the consistency and having the encouragement from good coaches that wanna see you succeed, it makes a huge difference.”
Stony Brook University LaValle Stadium’s football field had 500 white folding chairs specifically reserved for ADA seating in the front row section and at least eight American Sign Language interpreters for the national anthem.
Members of Third Eye Blind pose with Able News staff writer Christopher Alvarez during the watch party at Stony Brook University’s LaValle Stadium. The band performed at the free event. Photo courtesy: Christopher Alvarez
But first, another surprise of the night was the 45-minute performance by award-winning rock band Third Eye Blind.
Stephanie, a wheelchair user whose whole left side of her body was paralyzed after a stroke, brought her 22-year-old daughter, Lindsey, to watch the band.
“I’m just here for the music,” Lindsey said with a big smile. “We’re not as big soccer fans as most people here.”
She was excited to see the group perform the songs “Semi-Charmed Life” and “Motorcycle Drive By,” while her mother was there for it all.
Ariel Abal, 54, who likes to play wheelchair adaptive sports, came with his wife, Kim, from Copiague, Long Island. “U.S., of course,” he said. “We’re here to cheer them on!”
Third Eye Blind’s lead singer, Stephan Jenkins, thanked their fans for sitting in the drizzle and singing along with them.
Josephine and Jimmy were another disabled couple in attendance who came from Mastic Beach. “You know we’re all here for our Red, White and Blue,” an enthusiastic Jimmy said loudly. “We want to watch our boys make history.”
That’s exactly how the night ended with the American team scoring four goals in a World Cup game for the first time in program history. Folarin Balogun became the first U.S. man to score twice in a World Cup game since 1930.
Goal after goal, water bottles, ice cubes, popcorn and even hot dogs went flying. A perfect ending to one of the most inclusive sporting experiences New York State promised its disabled New Yorkers.
While the Stony Brook celebration specifically highlighted access to people with disabilities, there are several other free viewing events around the region, including Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman’s free, three-hour watch party at the Harry Chapin Lakeside Theater in Eisenhower Park for the June 19 America vs. Australia match.