LB Residents Lobby for Community Development Funds

It’s mid-March, that time of year when Long Beach residents and organizations apply for federal funds that Long Beach receives through its Community Development Program. But once again this year the city expects to receive fewer dollars for the program.

“We were told that we can expect a cut of about seven percent,” City Manager Charles Theofan said.

For the current funding year (from September to August), Long Beach received $808,000, but Theofan said that as the recession continues Congress will look to make across-the-board cuts to the program, and although the city expects to budget for $750,000, it may get even less. 

Each year the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) provides grants to Long Beach’s Community Development program. About 20 percent of the funds go to pay city employees who administer the program and 15 percent to public services, such as police and fire departments and civic-based organizations, while the remainder goes into various categories, including code enforcement, property acquisition and upgrades to parks, recreation and public facilities.

The North Park community was heavily represented at Tuesday’s City Council Meeting, when city-wide residents lobbied its members for a piece of the Community Development pie.

North Park residents inquired about the availability of funds for repairs and weatherization of residences, valves to correct flooding on Riverside Boulevard, and a handicapped elevator for Project Excellence, an after-school program at Christian Light Baptist Church.

Resident Crystal Lake asked about renovations that were planned for a basketball court at the north end of Riverside. She said the city, using the Community Development funds, could do a better job in supplying it with bike racks, trees and a bathroom.

“I’m hoping that this park will be absolutely fabulous for our children,” Lake said.

Council President Tom Sofield said that the person who was working on those renovations had died, and Sofield encouraged Lake to keep pressing for the park’s improvement.   

Said Theofan: “We are going to be doing many, many things [at that park], and I do think that at the end of the day you will be happy with it."

James Hodge, a board trustee at the Martin Luther King Community Center, asked the city to fund two new programs there and listed other programs throughout Long Beach that he believes need support: John White Program, Long Beach Reach, Vision of Hope and Project Excellence.  

“When you look at what the money is utilized for, it’s a wide range, but it tells you distinctively that the money should be used for low-income areas,” Hodge said.

He implored the council to use funds that typically go to the police department or the for beach and boardwalk improvements for these projects instead. “Please use Community Development funds on the areas where they’re supposed to go,” Hodge said.

Nassau County Legislator Denise Ford, R-Long Beach, echoed Hodge’s plea.  

“I think especially in this day and age, priority should be given to the community agencies," Ford said.

She characterized her part of town, the West End, as crying out for attention, particularly for beautification projects. “Using this money, we can make a more attractive neighborhood so that people will shop and be spending money down there,” Ford said.

The president of the West End Neighbors Civic Association, Rick Hoffman, asked the city to dedicate as much of the funds as it could to the West End, contending that the area, with its many restaurants, bars and retail stores, generates considerable revenue for Long Beach.

“The goal of this money is to enhance our best sense of community and our businesses, and with that in mind I’m here to recognize that the West End is a huge part of the equation in the success of our city,” Hoffman said.

Sofield suggested that since HUD gives Nassau County the responsibility of allocating the funds to local governments, Ford should use her influence to secure as much money as possible for Long Beach.

“Because we see our money constantly going down year after year after year,” Sofield told Ford. “And you as a county legislator are in the best position to fight for us to get more money.”

Ford told Sofield that in order for her to do that, she would first like to see the city provide a breakdown on how the community plans to spend the money.

“And that it’s the city’s responsibility to follow up with the applications,” she added, “... that they don’t follow past practices and not submit it, that they make sure all the information is sent to us.”