LB allows MLK to serve food in parking lot after Friday meeting

The City of Long Beach has permitted Martin Luther King Center workers to serve food Friday in the parking lot of the closed building on Riverside Boulevard, according to John McNally, executive assistant to the City Manager.

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.

The city on 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 is not working, and earlier this week, the Fire Marshall's office inspected and said it must be fixed before the building could be occupied again.

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.

The building remains closed. Hodge could not be reached for comment Friday.

No future dates were set for meetings, but McNally said he was certain the two sides would get together again soon.