The Police Athletic League (PAL) is an independent, nonprofit youth development agency in New York City. PAL is funded by a combination of private donations and public funding sources and is a designated charity of the New York City Police Department (NYPD). Robert M. Morgenthau, the late former New York County District Attorney, served as Chairman of the Board of Directors beginning in 1963. PAL is open to all New York City children. History The historical relationship between PAL and the NYPD is the result of a more than a century-old working relationship between law enforcement officials and civilian leaders. PAL was co-founded in 1914 by NYPD Police Commissioner Arthur Woods, who began Play Streets, and NYPD Police Captain John Sweeney, the founder of the Junior Police Clubs in Manhattan's Lower East Side. By 1917, the program was operating in 32 NYPD precincts. The two programs were eventually combined to become the Police Athletic League of New York City. From 1914 to 1959, PAL was led by high-ranking NYPD officials. Since 1960, PAL has been managed by civilian Executive Directors, who have continued the tradition of cops helping kids helping communities. Programs and services PAL offers a variety of services to city kids confronted by high risk factors in the neighborhoods with higher crime rates. Key programs include Head Start, After-School, Play Streets, Summer Day Camps, Truancy Prevention, Youthlink (family court probation supervision), Cops and Kids Sports, Summer Youth Employment, and Junior Police. Kids in grades K to 8 are served by a three-part after-school curriculum—PAL SMARTS, PAL ARTS and PAL FIT—that reinforces daily school lessons and academic achievement. PAL works with NYPD to install Play Street sites on city streets, parks and schoolyards; these sites offer structured and adult-supervised activities like stickball, basketball, double Dutch, dance, board games and art projects. Play Streets are free of charge weekdays for seven weeks each summer. In addition, PAL operates Summer Day Camps for children grades K to 8, which provide activities such as literacy activities, arts projects, community service, sports and recreation and a citywide Cultural Day event. PAL provides organized co-ed sports leagues for 14,000 New York City children, who are involved in sports such as basketball, flag football, baseball, volleyball and softball. Furthermore, over 825 NYPD officers and 2,500 PAL kids play on Cops & Kids sports teams, which are intended to create mutual respect between cops and kids.