By:Chris Munzing
Conlon, the founder and president of Citizens United to Remove Barriers (CURB), died Saturday night as a result of complications of an infection. He was 64.
"He was always so positive about everything," said Jim Monahan, a longtime friend who joined Conlon as the Long Beach Herald's 2002 People of the Year. "He was the heartbeat of the disabled community in Long Beach."
Monahan and Conlon were friends for 25 years, and when Monahan was paralyzed from the chest down in an accident in 1988, Conlon helped his friend realize that life in a wheelchair isn't so bad. "He was always so positive about everything," Monahan said. "He was always smiling, always upbeat. He was always saying, 'We can do it.'"
"He had this idea for a walk from New York to California," Monahan added, smiling. "That's over 3,000 miles. But then Jim said it would only be 3,000 inches. He meant from New York Avenue to California Street."
Conlon and CURB's influence was felt throughout Long Beach and beyond. According to CURBLong Beach was the first city in America to have curb cuts on every street corner, and Conlon's lawsuits forced everyone from the City of Long Beach to Donald Trump to make boardwalks, municipal buildings and Atlantic City hotels accessible to those with disabilities.
Assemblyman Harvey Weisenberg said he worked often with Conlon on projects to help the disabled in Long Beach, including the construction of handicapped-accessible ramps to the boardwalk and adding beach wheel chairs so disabled beachgoers could get onto the sand
Weisenberg called Conlon an ambassador for the disabled. "He knew what it was like to be in a chair, and what it was like to need help," he said. "It's going to be a great loss. He was just a spirit."
"He was a very special guy," said Angela Miele Melledy, editor of Able, a newspaper that covers the disabled community. "He was just the type of person who could bring different people together." Melledy, who worked often with Conlon, advertising his programs and events, said that Conlon and CURB donated resources and persuaded others to do the same to build ramps and lifts for those who needed them but couldn't afford them.
"Some people in that situation sit back and don't do anything," Melledy said. "Jim said, 'OK, I have to sit, but I'm still going to do whatever I can to help.'"
Monahan said that Conlon's loss is devastating, but he added that CURB would carry on. "Of course it's a great loss, but we're definitely going to step up to the plate," he said. "CURB will not change." Monahan said that along with Conlon's wife, Regina, he would fill Conlon's role.
Monahan added that there would be no funeral, but that a memorial service would be planned sometime in the near future.
