Pictured during a July 31 event in downtown Long Beach to celebrate a donation of 27 refurbished bikes to two local nonprofits who serve youth are (from left): John Tully, chief operating officer and co-owner of Pedal Movement; Diko Melkonian, manager of the Environmental Services Bureau for the City of Long Beach’s Public Works Department, and Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia.
In May, the Long Beach Department of Public Works requested that residents participate in Long Beach Bike Month by contributing unwanted bicycles at three locations that Waste Management, Inc. established: Whaley Park, Scherer Park and the intersection of Long Beach Boulevard and East Broadway.
Out of the 41 bicycles collected, the ones that were unfit for reuse were recycled. Pedal Movement then refurbished the bikes that were salvageable.
On Monday, July 31, the City and the two businesses hosted a ceremony downtown to officially make the donations to the two nonprofit organizations— Long Beach Blast and Partners of Parks— which will then bestow the bikes to some of the young people they serve.
In an email to the Signal Tribune after Monday’s event, Noly Guardamondo, executive director of Long Beach Blast, an academic mentoring program, said her staff is excited to have been chosen as a recipient of the recycled bicycles.
“Through the generous efforts of Waste Management, Pedal Movement and the City of Long Beach, we will select a lucky few, amongst the over 800 underserved, low-income and at-risk youth that we serve annually,” Guardamondo said. “Those selected will have the opportunity to stay active, have an effective means to get to school [or] work, as well as gain an appreciation for recycling. This amazing partnership demonstrates the magic that happens when business, nonprofit, city government and a community come together.”
Randy Zarn, executive director for Partners of Parks (POP), a nonprofit that supports public parks and programs in Long Beach, also expressed his appreciation in an email and explained how the bicycles will be distributed.
“We plan to donate the bikes to low-income youth through a bicycle camp in Bixby Park run by [former Olympian and professional cyclist] Tony Cruz and the Long Beach Mobility Team,” Zarn said. “In addition, Partners of Parks will donate bikes to some of the POP Youth Assistance Program recipients. POP supports low-income families by providing scholarships to send their children to Parks, Recreation & Marine classes and summer camps. We are excited about this new partnership and look forward to future bike give-aways.”
Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia was at Monday’s event and spoke about the value of promoting a bicycle culture.
“It is our goal in Long Beach to continuously improve our mobility infrastructure in the city and find fun ways to promote bicycling,” Garcia said. “Both residents and visitors continue to do our environment justice by improving air quality and taking cars off the road.”
City officials say the “Recycle Your Bicycle” program coordinated by Public Works will become an annual event, allowing residents to donate unused and unwanted bicycles in any size and condition during Bike Month in May.
“We are always looking for ways to encourage mobility in Long Beach,” said Craig Beck, director of Public Works. “Thanks to the efforts of Public Works staff, Waste Management and Pedal Movement, 27 more Long Beach residents will have the opportunity to enjoy the city by bicycle.”
