Weisenberg gives library $25K, PBA $5K

On the first floor of the Long Beach Public Library, around the corner from the front desk and by the bookshelves, there’s a banner: “Harvey Weisenberg: A lifetime of sand, sea and service.”

Harvey Weisenberg, a lifeguard and former state assemblyman, has spent the past 68 years serving the city. He was honored by the library last year for his years of public service,

Weisneberg, 88, along with his late wife Ellen, donated $25,000 to the library in hopes to help support the preservation of the city’s history on Saturday, Jan. 22.

The donation will help the library build a new local history room during its renovation of the first floor. The new room will include books, clippings, oral recordings, vintage postcards, yearbooks and newspapers. Gemma Tansey, president of the Long Beach Public Library Board of Trustees, said the history is important to maintain.

“Long Beach Public Library is deeply grateful to Harvey for his support and generosity,” Tansey said in a statement. “Reserving local history connects us with our past, helps inform our present and inspires us to actively shape our future.”

Weisenberg said he “put a lot of time” in Long Beach and wants the library to help people “know who we are as a city.” He said giving back is his mission in life, and that this time he really wants residents to feel lucky about living here.

“God gave me an angel, a saint and a mission,” Weisenberg said. “My angel is my child, my saint is my wife and my mission is helping people.” He was referring to his wife, Ellen, who died in 2016 at age 81, and to his son, Rickey, who has cerebral palsy.

Weisenberg continued this mission Monday when he gathered with the Long Beach PBA in the library, right in front of his banner. They all gathered to recognize another donation; this one was $5,000 for the PBA. Being a former PBA president, Weinstein said he wanted to give a “thank you” to the officers.

Current PBA President Mike Corbett, who grew up in the West End but now lives in Lido, said the donation was “generous” and reaffirmed what they already knew about Weisenberg.

“It’s huge, we always knew Harvey was our biggest backer,” said Corbett. “He has never forgotten where he came from. He always supports law enforcement, it’s kind of like his mission.”

The PBA presented Weisenberg with a new plaque as a way to thank him for his donation.