Two city locations will be renamed after local community leaders Doris Topsy-Elvord and Dan Pressburg, following the City Council’s approval on Tuesday.
Community center renamed after first Black council member
The council unanimously approved the motion to rename the community center at Houghton Park the “Doris Topsy-Elvord Community Center.”
Topsy-Elvord became the first Black woman to be elected to the Long Beach City Council and served as vice mayor twice in the 90s. She was also the first Black person to serve as harbor commissioner. On her long list of accomplishments, she also co-founded the African American Heritage Society of Long Beach in 1997.
“I think it’s fitting that this renaming of the community center follows Juneteenth because it’s really important to celebrate the amazing work and legacy of Black women,” Councilmember Suely Saro said.
Topsy-Elvord has been credited with being a champion for policies to expand economic inclusion for both residents and business owners of color, a document from the office of Vice Mayor Rex Richardson said.
Richardson, who heavily supported the renaming, noted that there was a goal to get the item approved before Topsy-Elvord’s 90th birthday.
“She has done something revolutionary to make lasting change in policy, to make lasting change in the lives of the people that our city and its institutions interact with,” Carl Kemp said during public comment. “I will simply say that I would not be here today if it were not for Doris Topsy-Elvord.”
The Pressburg Parkway
The council also voted 8-0 to rename the South Street Parkway “The Pressburg Parkway” to honor the contributions of North Long Beach community leader Dan Pressburg.
The item received support from seven District 9 neighborhood association presidents and a letter of support from the DeForest Park Neighborhood Association.
Historically significant, the South Street Parkway is the City’s first pocket park. It spans approximately a third of an acre and is an open greenspace for the DeForest community to use.
The space was used in the past to dump trash until Pressburg and other DeForest Park residents started cleaning up the area, helping it become the parkway it is today.
“The most important thing about the parkway is that he never asked for recognition for it,” a letter by Pressburg’s son Aaron said. “He never said, ‘This is mine.’ Even though he took pride, looking out of his windows and seeing something he helped create.”
Pressburg has been part of the DeForest Park neighborhood for over 35 years and has become a bastion of the Uptown community.
He opens his doors to whoever needs help. He keeps us abreast of anything and everything that’s going on within the city. I can’t think of anyone more deserving, at this time, to have something named in their honor for all the work they put out.
–Darlene Broom, Long Beach resident
“The first person that I met from 20 years ago, when my husband and I first moved to DeForest Park was Dan Pressburg, and he has been an active figure that whole time,” Darlene Broom said during public comment.
“He opens his doors to whoever needs help. He keeps us abreast of any and everything that’s going on within the city,” she said “I can’t think of anyone more deserving, at this time, to have something named in their honor for all of the work that they put out.”
Among other work Pressburg has done in the community is a yearly distribution of turkeys and trees for the holidays.
For nine years, he hosted the One-Day Christmas Store, where he provided gifts for people in the city who could not otherwise afford presents on Christmas. The store serviced over 30,000 residents during its run.
In the last seven years, Pressburg has been the president of the DeForest Park Neighborhood Association and has organized tree plantings, community events and played a key role in the DeForest Park Wetlands Restoration, which opened in 2018.
“My father lives, breathes [and] bleeds North Long Beach,” Aaron Pressburg said in a statement.
The next Long Beach City Council meeting will take place on Tuesday, June 8 at 5 p.m. via teleconference.
