Future of MLK Center in Long Beach remains up in the air

The City of Long Beach and representatives of the Martin Luther King Center have been quietly holding on-and-off talks for months aimed at reopening the facility, which normally serves children, adults and seniors but has been closed since March for failing to provide a coronavirus safety plan.

On Tuesday, however, relations grew testy when the City Council accused Anissa Moore, its former president, of “intentional fabrications” and making an “outrageous claim that the council intends to convert the building into condominiums.”

A few weeks ago, Moore issued a petition asking for the public’s help in reopening the center and discussing its future.

“This is a blatant lie, seemingly intended to confuse and inflame the public,” the council said in its statement and called on Moore to retract it.

Long Beach and MLK officials have lately been discussing offering the center, on Riverside Boulevard, a lease arrangement that would require it to pay modest rent. The center uses the building, which is owned by the city, but has not been paying rent. The officials were set to meet on Thursday in the hope of finalizing an agreement.

Moore expressed outrage at the council’s statements. She said she had sent out a petition calling on residents to oppose the city’s plans. “I said [the center] is going to become condos,” Moore said in an interview with the Herald, adding that several developers had told her the building would someday be converted into condominiums.

“Apparently the city decided to place my name in this article without calling me, without telling me,” Moore said. She said she would not retract her statements. “The city should deny” that the center will become condos, she said.

Moore said she was meeting with attorney Fred Brewington, who has represented the center in talks with the city, and that she planned to elaborate on her comments to the Herald after that meeting.

The MLK Center has not devised a plan to institute safety protocols to limit the spread of Covid-19, and only administrative personnel have been allowed to work inside the building. In order to operate, the building must adhere to coronavirus safety guidelines ordered by Gov. Andrew Cuomo. The discussion of a lease arrangement appeared to signal the center’s potential reopening.

The City Council said that the city “seeks to continue its relationship with the MLK Center Inc.” But it added that it was “deeply disappointed” by Moore’s remarks.

“We can’t be clearer about this: the city is fully prepared to partner with the MLK Center Inc. to bring programs and services to the residents, especially our youth and seniors,” council President John Bendo said. “The City and MLK Center Inc. has a long history together that we want to see thrive.”

The MLK Center has been a focal point of the city’s efforts to feed, educate and cloth people in need since it opened more than 35 years ago. Several hundred children make use of the center during the week for tutoring, recreation and counseling services. The center provides food packages to many of the city’s low-income residents, and seniors are offered health education services and space for meetings,