L.B. MLK center attorney: center should be reopen within two days

The Martin Luther King Center in Long is expected to re-open in the next few days, allowing workers to resume cooking meals in the building, the attorney for the center said Monday.

Fred Brewington, the attorney for the center, said that a faulty fire alarm system, which caused the closing of the building last week, has been fixed.

"The shutdown of the building caused a lot of concern," said Brewington, a well-known Long Island civil-rights leader. The center provides daily meals for between 250 to 300 people.

Brewington said "over the weekend, there was a lot of back and forth" between MLK and Long Beach officials over how to resolve the situation. He said he expected the building to be re-opened "in the next day or two."

John McNally, executive assistant to Long Beach City Manager Donna Gayden, said early Monday that the city, on Monday, will deliver 100 Grab and Go meals to the center. He said the city is hoping to building can re-open in a day or two, but added that the ire alarm system still needs to be tested to make sure it is working properly.

"Our hope is to re-open the building," McNally said.

The city last Wednesday changed the locks on the doors of the center after, officials said, people continued to come for meals and other activities, even though the Nassau County Fire Mashall's office had declared the building closed. The fire alarm system was not working, and earlier last week, the Fire Marshall's office inspected and said it must be fixed before the building could be occupied again.

The City of Long Beach has permitted the center to serve food Friday in the parking lot of the building on Riverside Boulevard, according to McNally. The city's permission to serve the food was part of an agreement struck Friday morning after Long Beach and MLK officials met at City Hall.

James Hodge, chairman of the MLK Center, went on Facebook Thursday to alert residents to the closing of the building and that some 300 people would not receive food. He appealed to the city to re-open the center. Hodge remained on Facebook during the day, interviewing residents who had come for food. State Sen. Todd Kaminsky, a Long Beach Democrat, made an appearance at the center, vowing to do what he could to re-open the building.

Hodge was on Facebook for three hours Saturday night as part of a regular program he hosts. He said then that he hoped the situation would be resolved shortly.