Since it was founded in 2019, the Sunny Central Neighborhood Association has been run solely by the local Ochoa family and a few of their friends. Now, all residents of the neighborhood are being invited to participate.
The Sunny Central neighborhood is bordered by Atlantic Avenue, Pacific Coast Highway, Willow Street and Orange Avenue.
Residents living within that area are encouraged by the Ochoa family to join them monthly at the Burnett Library, where they can meet their neighbors, share their concerns about the local area and brainstorm ways to improve their neighborhood.
“We really want to know what they’re passionate about in their neighborhood and what we could work together on, and what they could do as an individual also,” said Reyna Ochoa. “There’s things that everyone could do on their own to make our neighborhoods better, but there’s also things that can be done as a group that will probably be easier.”
The Ochoa family started the Sunny Central Neighborhood Association in 2019 with organized litter clean ups, and then pivoted to grocery giveaways once the pandemic spread to Long Beach. There are currently around 10 members of the neighborhood association, all of whom are either related to or friends with the Ochoa family.
While one of their original goals was to hold monthly neighborhood meetings, Reyna said the pandemic and other issues kept delaying their plans. However, during the National Night Out event last August, members of the Sunny Central Neighborhood Association were able to connect with their neighbors and determined that Saturday mornings would be the best time for their monthly meetings.
Reyna said that City Councilmember Suely Saro has been supportive of the neighborhood association since she came into office, and will cover the cost of renting space at the Burnett Library for the monthly meetings.
The Sunny Central Neighborhood Association’s first meeting will take place Saturday, Jan. 27 at 10 a.m. at the Burnett Library (560 E Hill St.).
