Residents of all ages from the Washington neighborhood organized a show of solidarity at Tuesday night’s Long Beach City Council meeting to ask for a community center in the area.
The Washington community has been advocating for a center to serve its youth and seniors for over a decade, and residents say progress has been slow. Over 40 neighbors, ranging from elementary school-aged students to seniors, asked the City to invest more funding to get the center to its next steps.
Neighbors spoke about the impact a Washington community center would have in preventing violence among youth, creating a positive outlet and providing a place to connect with one another. Residents envision a space that offers violence prevention programs, child development programs, professional development programs and extracurricular activities.
Director of Parks, Recreation and Marine Brent Dennis said the City is close to choosing a consultant group to lead the planning efforts for the community center. The City is planning a community meeting in the Washington neighborhood in late April so residents can meet the consultant group and begin planning the next steps.
Latinos in Action California, a nonprofit that specializes in leadership development, education, community health and safety, has been a leader in pushing for the Washington Community Center. The nonprofit conducted an outreach campaign that garnered over 400 signatures in a push to highlight the need for the center in 2014. They presented the petition to former Mayor, current Congressman Robert Garcia, and former Councilmember, current Senator Lena Gonzalez.
“I believe it’s urgently necessary for the City to build a community center in the Washington neighborhood since there’s so much need and the capacity to serve so many families is not enough with a single organization,” said Latinos in Action California instructor Guadalupe.
In 2021, Books & Buckets joined the effort, as a nonprofit that focuses on the intersection of youth academics, athletics and advocacy, specifically in the Washington neighborhood.
The two organizations began having planning meetings with Councilmember Mary Zendejas and the Washington Neighborhood Association. Together they created a vision plan and presented it to Mayor Rex Richardson in 2022.
“As the mayor and councilmembers probably already know, the Washington neighborhood is a neighborhood that has a lot of challenges, but there’s a lot of beauty within it too. I mean just look at how many residents showed up here today to really advocate for this community center that they’ve long deserved,” said Andrew Manduajano, systems change director with Books & Buckets. “This community center has been a long campaign, this group is so powerful and so committed we just want to ask y’all to continue that commitment.”
The Washington neighborhood is located in West Long Beach, an area with high rates of poverty, poor air quality and few community spaces. Despite having over 8,000 residents, most of whom are Latino or Black, the neighborhood has only one park.
Many residents Tuesday night spoke about their experiences living with violence in the Washington neighborhood, insisting that a community center would decrease violence among youth by giving them a place to be away from the streets.
Long Beach announced a citywide initiative of youth violence prevention last summer called S.T.R.O.N.G. Beach, using community activations, youth engagement and safe spaces to “decrease violent incidents in city neighborhoods most impacted by violence.” However, this initiative only utilized already existing spaces and programs, so neighborhoods with no existing public spaces had to travel to other parts of the city.
Richardson announced the first round of funding towards the Washington Community Center at his State of the City address in 2023. The center was given $500,000 in Measure A funds and included in Richardson’s Elevate ‘28 plan, a major overhaul and upgrading of Long Beach’s parks and public spaces in preparation for the 2028 Olympics.
The $500,000 was used for outreach, planning and designing efforts, according to Dennis. The City is hoping to complete the Request for Proposals process in the next couple weeks to present the consulting group to the community in late April.
Multiple organizers asked the City to show urgency in supporting the community center and to search for more funding. Residents also asked that Senator Gonzalez make a contribution to the center.
“I’ve lived in the Washington neighborhood my whole life and my family and I can’t envision ourselves not living in this neighborhood. One of the most challenging things for us is the security of the neighborhood at all times,” said 14-year-old Camila. “I can’t walk around without worrying about what’s happening in our neighborhood whether it’s drugs, gang violence, homelessness etc. The community center would help fix the problems in our neighborhood. Kids like me would have more help to get them through challenges.”
As of March 19, the Elevate ‘28 page for the “Washington Youth Center” shows no estimated construction date, completion date or plans for additional funding. The building was deemed a youth center by the city, but the residents have renamed it a community center, since they hope to see services that serve all ages.
Dennis told the Signal Tribune that at this time there is no additional funding identified, adding that projects like the community center are “always on the wishlist.”
“For many years the significance of the Washington community center has been acknowledged by the mayor and Councilwoman Mary Zendejas. Despite this recognition, progress has been slow and the center remains an unfulfilled promise,” said Cynthia Evangelista with the Washington Historic Association. “The mayor has often spoken about his commitment to the westside, emphasizing the need for a unifying message within our community. Today I stand before you united with the other organizations determined to turn this dream into a reality.”
