Thursday, October 1, 2026
James Hodge, chairman of the Long Beach Martin Luther King Center, took to Facebook early Thursday morning to say that the city had locked the doors to the center and that he is unable to get inside, preventing cooks from preparing meals for some 300 people.
Hodge asked people to call the city to demand the center be re-opened. On the Facebook video, Hodge is wearing a mask and the video is live.
"I just came to the center to open the door this morning," Hodge said in the video. "The key just doesn't go in. They changed the lock. Our cooks won't be able to get in."
The city has closed the MLK Center for fire safety reasons.
In a statement early this week, the city said, "The Long Beach Martin Luther King Center has been providing an invaluable service, supplying nourishment to those in need during the COVID-19 pandemic. Unfortunately, the Center's fire alarm system has malfunctioned, necessitating temporary closure of the facility per Nassau County Fire Marshal code. Long Beach Soup Kitchen has agreed to provide the MLK Center, Inc. with meals, which will be distributed at the Center and to seniors as per usual, while a longer-term solution is devised. Thanks to all involved for your close coordination and action to ensure the needs of the Long Beach community are met."
Long Beach officials said they offered to meet with the board of the MLK Center earlier this week, but received no response.
Bohdan Pilczak, a deputy Nassau County fire coordinator with the county Fire Marshall's office, Thursday sent a letter to Long Beach officials saying the MLK Center, at 615 Riverside Blvd., violated county fire codes.
Pilczak said representatives of the fire marshal's office were at the MLK Center Wednesday to check on complaints about the fire alarm system. Pilczak said no one was in the building and "attempts were made to make contact with someone who should have been inside conducting a fire watch as required." Pilczak said the marshal's office received no response. He ordered that the building "shall be evacuated and not be occupied."
Hodge said the building was open after Superstorm Sandy and questioned why it has to be closed now.
"I demand help," he said. "Our food is in the building."
Former City Council President Anissa Moore started a Change.org petition to "restore the Long Beach MLK Center's operations."
In the petition, Moore asks the city to expedite the restoration of the Long Beach MLK Center.
"The MLK Inc. Board was not informed of the action to close the center. The city failed to provide timely documentation regarding the action or the reason for the action," Moore said. "The board has not received any complaints or violations regarding the fire alarm system in recent months. To leave a minority neighborhood without resources during a national pandemic is unconscionable."
State Sen. Todd Kaminsky, who has sponsored the Grab and Go Food program, which feeds hungry individuals during the pandemic, joined Hodge on Thursday to protest the closure of the MLK Center.
"This building is too important and matters too much and we've come too far to have these doors closed," Kaminsky said on Hodge's Facebook Live video. "I know that during a global pandemic, we should be doing everything we can to be a united force.
John McNally, executive assistant to Long Beach City Manager Donna Gayden, said Thursday morning that the city is working with local churches and other organizations to find ways to provide food to people who are not permitted to be inside the MLK Center.
McNally said Hodge informed the city last Thursday that the fire alarm system was not working. McNally said the city dispatched a fire official, who confirmed the system was not working. McNally added that the city had no other choice but to close the building because it violated city fire codes.
McNally said the city had posted signs that the building was closed, but people showed up anyway. He said the locks were changed Wednesday night.
He said the city has a contractor working on the alarm system, but that a quick fix may not be possible. He said the building is unlikely to re-open Thursday.
"Mr. Hodge alerted us to the fire alarm situation," McNally said. "We communicated the liability" that keeping the building open would present. We've been trying to find an amicable solution, but have not found a partner at the MLK Center to work with."
