At the Tuesday, Aug. 24 Long Beach City Council meeting, Councilmember Suely Saro allocated $5,890 of her district priority funds towards the restoration of the Martin Luther King Jr. statue at MLK Park.
The statue was vandalized with the symbol of a swastika and lightning bolts on July 2 of this year. The graffiti was later removed by the Parks, Recreation and Marine Department.
City-run security cameras in the park would have captured the act of vandalism, but the camera pointed towards the statue was broken at the time of the crime.
The cameras have since been repaired. At a July 13 council meeting, City Manager Tom Modica said the city was working to install additional lighting in the area.
At that same meeting, Saro introduced an item offering a $5,000 reward for any information regarding the vandalism. The Anti-Defamation League contributed an additional $3,000, bringing the total reward to $8,000.
During her brief council comment, Saro said that the statue, first installed in 1986, “has stood for a symbol of equity, equality and justice.”
“This is how I want to pay respect and make sure we restore this and do a permanent upgrade to MLK Park, as well as other parks in our district,” Saro said.
The statue’s restoration is also listed as one of several priority projects to be funded with the City’s year-end surpluses for fiscal year 2021.
