Kids looking for a place to go during the summer were provided with an answer with the opening of the Beach Club, a teen center located at East School. The center, run by Project Challenge, was open to teens and featured video games, Internet access and games.
The anticipated sale of the land beneath the Waldbaum-s plaza was put on hold in early July, where it remains today. The sale, which was anticipated by the Republican City Council majority of Jim Hennessy, Tom Sofield and Mona Goodman and then-city manager Glen Spiritis, would have brought a price of $2.01 million to the city.
A sale of city-owned land, however, must be approved with at least four council votes. Democrats Lenny Remo and Denis Kelly refused to vote for the sale, and continue to do so.
The pool at the Recreation Center was finally reopened to the delight of swimmers young and old. We couldn-t be happier to be here, Hennessy said to the swimmers who attended the opening. This pool is important to the kids, to the seniors, to our local swim team, to everyone.
ÊWe-re really happy we have our pool back, said 13-year old Jackie Smith said after she got out of the pool. Smith and the rest of the Tigersharks swim team were happy to be back in their pool. We-re just ecstatic. It-ll bring the team back together now that we-re all in one place.
The team had previously been grabbing pool time at the high school whenever they could.
July also saw the formation of the city-s new planning board, a commission of 11 men and women designed to advise the city manager in the creation of a citywide master plan, though it was not empowered to create or alter laws.
This is the beginning of the end of overdevelopment, Hennessy said at the time.
The planning commission, in addition to making suggestions of their own, also accept suggestions of citizens within the city.
Local skateboarder Anthony Brittell, 15, won a local skating competition in July, but instead of being given a trophy, he was given a plane ticket to compete in the annual Gravity Games in Cleveland, an annual extreme sports competition.
Brittell won an Amateur Series qualifier at Oil City Skatepark in Oceanside to qualify. Hanging out and skating with your friends, that-s the best part, he said at the time.
Joe Brand was named the new Parks and Recreation Commissioner, after the city combined the Recreation and Beach Park departments.
Brand, who had previously served as beach commissioner, filled the role vacated by the retiring Robert Carroll. Robert Sondergaard, who was acting superintendent of the Recreation Department, was named second in command to Brand.
Hennessy said that Brand was selected after the job was publicized at recreation departments across Long Island. Joe Brand is probably the best candidate to bring recreation in Long Beach to the next level, he said. The team of Joe and Bobby [Sondergaard] is the best asset for recreation in this community.
The morning team of Regis Philbin and Kelly Ripa of ABC-s Live with Regis and Kelly made the beaches of Long Beach its home for taped segments for a week before broadcasting the show entirely from the beach on July 23 with special guest Hulk Hogan.
August
The City of Long Beach reached a settlement with Circulo de la Hispanidad in August in a court case brought about by the cancellation of Circulo-s festival in May 1998. The city agreed to pay the community organization $500,000 in installments over the next three years.
The original court decision assessed the city $425,000 in compensatory damages and $250,000 in attorney-s fees. Punitive damages of $50,000 against then-City Manager Edwin Eaton were also awarded.
ÊÊÊÊÊIn addition to the settlement with the city, Circulo dropped the punitive damages after Eaton offered to pay the organization $500, Corporation Counsel Charles Theofan said in August. ÊÊÊÊÊ
The city paid Circulo $200,000 within 15 days of the passage of the resolution, and will pay $125,000 on July 15, 2005 and 2006 and $50,000 on July 15, 2007.
Luis and Cesar Castillo, 14 and 16, respectively, were pulled from a violent ocean in August by quick thinking lifeguards and two Yamaha Wave Runners the city had for the summer.
The two boys, who are brothers, entered the water after lifeguards had left for the day and quickly got into trouble.
Tom Daly, a beach supervisor, was trying to lock up, he said, when he saw the boys.
I radioed to the police and went in, he said at the time. I had no time to even wait for a response. I swam out with a [rescue buoy], got to the closest boy and had a tough decision to make. I picked him up, put him on the [buoy], and swam out to the second victim.
As soon as I reached the second boy, Daly continued, I saw that the first was starting to panic and went under, so I brought him back up and put him back on the buoy. Then I told them that we were stuck and were going to have to swim out around the jetty.
Lifeguards Matthew Hopkins and Matty Kohut brought out a Wave Runner, and Kohut piloted it out to the scene. The boys and the lifeguards were brought around the jetty and in to safety.
August marked the celebration of the 75th anniversary of the Lido Hotel, now known as the Lido Towers. Today, it is a 184-unit condominium tower.
Years ago, however, it was the site of performances by Sammy Davis Jr., the Marx Brothers and Barbra Streisand. It was home to a huge swimming pool and a restaurant with a retractable roof for dining under the stars. It was home to extravagant parties, fabulous dining and one of the country-s most luxurious hotels.
A lecture was given by Long Beach historian Roberta Fiore on the storied past of the Long Island landmark and the Hughson Hawley 1929 watercolor architectural rendering of the hotel-s master plan that hangs in the building-s lobby.
It was a Gatsby crowd, Fiore said at the time. It was a crowd that was finally allowed to party after Prohibition. It was the ultimate playground of the Ô30s.
It was a magnificent place back then, and it still is a magnificent place, said Stanley Fleishman, a longtime resident. It-s the best-kept secret on the East Coast, he said. It-s like every day is a vacation.
Strong hitting and stronger pitching led the Long Beach Girls Junior League softball team to the state championship in early August. The team had to fight through teams from all over the state for the crown, before missing the national tournament by only one game.
Thirteen girls from Long Beach, Lido Beach and Point Lookout make up the team, which is managed by Les Shamis and coached by Scott Halfon and Gerard Passaro.
We-ve brought these girls up pretty much since t-ball, he said. And they-ve always been competitive.
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September
Jim Conlon, who spent most of his life in a wheelchair, but stoop up for those who needed it, died in September at the age of 64 as a result of complications of an infection.
Conlon was the founder and president of Citizens United to Remove Barriers (CURB).
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.
Conlon and CURB-s influence was felt throughout Long Beach and beyond. Long 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 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.
September also marked the second annual Long Beach Jazz Festival. Sponsored by the Long Beach Public Library, the event ran from Sept. 9 through 12 at various locations throughout the city and showcased dozens of musicians in different settings.
The murder of Diane Malone, 32, in September rocked Long Beach and the West End in particular. Malone-s body was discovered in her Alabama Street home by her six-year old daughter and a neighbor.
Her estranged husband, David Malone, 35, was arrested and charged with second-degree murder a few days later after he was seen walking just three blocks away from the grisly killing in which Diane Malone was stabbed and bludgeoned to death. After pleading not guilty in November, Malone is due back in court in January.
Since the killing, the three Malone children, ages 6, 3, and 1 at the time of the murder, have received an outpouring of support from people across Long Island. WBAB ran a day-long charity event in September for the children, raising tens of thousands of dollars for their future.
City Manager Glen Spiritis resigned his post in September, citing health reasons stemming from his multiple sclerosis. Corporation Counsel Charles Theofan took over as acting city manager.
Spiritis was on medical leave until Nov. 4. I-ve had a health setback, he said in a phone interview with the Herald at the time. While I would have relished the opportunity to continue to serve as city manager, I must follow my doctor-s orders and avail myself of early retirement.
Spiritis was brought in by the council earlier this year to find ways to bring order to the city-s finances and streamline the city-s day-to-day operations. While he and the Republican majority of the council succeeded in avoiding a tax increase, Spiritis drew the ire of many residents and city employees when 16 city workers were fired as part of an effort to cut costs.
September brought some special kids to the beach when Surfer-s Healing, an organization formed to teach autistic children how to surf. The organization-s founder, Izzy Paskowitz, is a former world champion surfer, and the father of an autistic child.
The amount of volunteers here is amazing, and really shows a true sense of community, he said. It-s a testament to those who want to help the less fortunate. It-s just magic out there.
One event volunteer said that a sign-up sheet for volunteers was recently put up in the window of Unsound Surf on East Park Avenue. Twenty-four hours after it went up, he said, 40 people had put their names down.
