There was a ribbon cutting ceremony this morning at MacArthur Park. The ceremony featured a speeches from the current Sixth District City Council Man Dee Andrews, the directors of Parks and Rec, local poets and performances from dancers at the Homeland Cultural Center.
The new playground is cast in vibrant purples, greens and yellows. The varied color scheme was meant to show reverence to the different cultures within the neighborhood. In addition to the renovations to the playground, there were also about $500,000 in renovations to the cultural center where free classes in: Bokator, Hmong Arts Belly Dance, Graf Murals, Youth Writing & Improv, African Dance, Aztec Dance, Cambodian Dance, Hip-Hop Dance, Guitar/Bass and Micronesian Music are held. That list is not exhaustive of all classes held at the theatre.
A break down of exactly where the money came from for the renovations came from will be published around Monday. I have a request in to Parks and Rec for a detailed break down.
The poetry reminded those in attendance that through the theater graffiti has morphed into art. Gangs have morphed into street dance. And that in many cases, the alienated have been given a voice.
The bad news: There is no money left for the badly needed renovations of the restrooms, which does contradict earlier reports on how far the money would go.
From NextDoor: There will be a grand opening ceremony at MacArthur
Park this Saturday, March 26, at 10 am to celebrate our new playground
equipment and our newly renovated facility. The morning's activities
will include entertainment by the Afrikan dancers and Street Dance Crew
from Homeland Cultural Center, and the reading of a poem especially
written for the occasion. The public is invited to attend the ceremony,
and to tour the facilities afterwards.
Jim Ruggirello
Supervisor, Homeland Cultural Center at MacArthur Park
There have been some major alterations to the MacArthur Park Neighborhood Playground. The three new blue and purple structures are larger than the old ones and made of sturdier metal. The old ones were a weak type of plastic.
There is a newer, larger slide. Much nicer swings. And the "monkey bars," have a little less of a kindergarten feel to them. I was able to check the restrooms, and I did notice they were significantly cleaner, with no tagging. There are also concrete islands within the new play ground to help keep it clean.
The following comes from sources inside the park that any reasonable person would expect to be accurate. Because the office of Dee Andrews is disputing it, I am asking for all official documents to show exactly where all the funding from the park renovation came from. Send that info to shaynem@hotmail.com: From a critical stand point, we were told by sources close to the park this renovation came from a $500,000 grant from the state. The community was also told the City and District Six pledged no money, so please hold off on giving credit to our City Council with accomplishing this, it happened in spite of a lack of City support, and was used as an excuse for the cancellation of the Cambodia Town Night Market.
The following post was from Jim Ruggirello at the Cultural Center of
MacArthur Park on Next Door: "The long-awaited and much-needed
renovation of the main building at MacArthur Park, the home of Homeland
Cultural Center, will begin Monday, September 28. The entire building
will be shut down for a week for asbestos abatement. During that time
some classes will be held in the Manazar Gamboa Theater, others will be
cancelled. After that, work will begin on the room that used to house
the Mark Twain Library and most of our regular schedule will resume. The
entire project, including work on the rest of the building, the
playground, and the restrooms, should be complete by the end of the
year."
At
the 6th and 7th District Budget meeting earlier this year Andrews
stated that there should be enough money left over to renovate the
restrooms. Bare in mind, the entire budget for this project was provided
by the state of California. The City of Long Beach is not contributing
to the restoration of MacArthur Park. I would encourage all neighborhood residents to visit all nearby parks. It is very eye-opening to see how much money the city will invest in the neighborhoods where Central Long Beach residents do not live. Compare the civic center at Drake Park to the one at MacArthur Park. Compare the condition of the streets in Bellmont Heights to the conditions anywhere in Central Long Beach. What you will quickly learn, is for Central Long Beach it's a battle to get a pothole filled, a tree trimmed or a mattress picked up. In Bellmont Heights, the city will build what is nearly a billion dollar pool.
A break down of exactly where the money came from for the renovations came from will be published around Monday. I have a request in to Parks and Rec for a detailed break down.
