Recommendation to request City Manager to work with local stakeholders to create a community vision for developing and activating a cultural district recognizing and supporting the historic contributions of the LGBTQ+ community.
Yes, we'll do that for sure, sir. Is Lissa Bishop here? Okay, then word concluded from a comment. And we're going to go ahead and go on to the remainder of the agenda. We're going to begin with item number 25, please. Item 25 is a communication from Mayor Robert Garcia and Councilwoman Allen. Recommendation two requires city manager to work with local stakeholders to create a cultural district recognizing and supporting the historic contributions of the LGBTQ community. Thank you very much. I'm going to go out and just make a few comments and I'll turn this over to Councilwoman Allen. I think it's no surprise that Long Beach has a large and really proud LGBTQ plus community. We have had it for four decades. One of the things that makes Long Beach unique is organizations across the country will tell you that the density of LGBTQ plus people in the city is actually one of the highest in the state of California and certainly for a city of our size. When you think about Long Beach and the heart of the broader gay community, that really is the Broadway corridor. Our LGBTQ plus community is has developed, has grown, has come out, has invested all up along this corridor for many, many decades. It's also one of the most politically active communities in the city and has been for a very long time fighting for rights at Pride, making sure that that employees had equal but equal employee benefits, and ensuring that, particularly during the AIDS crisis, that there was attention brought to this important and critical issue for many gay people and members of the community, myself included. Many of the spaces along Broadway, particularly in Alameda Speech and the bars and and the businesses, were the one place that you would go to, where you could be open, where you would come out, where you would meet friends, where you would share stories. And so the the the corridor along Broadway is a very significant place for the community and I think for the broader language community here in the city. For many years, there's been discussions within the community about creating a historic or cultural district that would encompass the historic gay neighborhoods in Alameda Speech along Broadway. These are spaces that are incredibly important to the community. It is currently there are numerous small businesses, LGBTQ plus own businesses, bars, nonprofits, restaurants, spaces that celebrate the community as well as, of course, other other businesses. We also know that this is an area that is a great neighborhood, a neighborhood that is incredibly inclusive, broadly across the city as well. Over the years, there's been improvements made, whether it's been the crosswalks, whether it's been ensuring that the infrastructure for mobility gets, gets, gets installed. But this is an opportunity to think about the broader history and to involve the broader community. The recommendation is to ask staff to come back with a a plan after, of course, working with the community. And we'd like the team to work with our local historians, neighbors, the LGBTQ plus business owners, of course, not the nonprofit organizations, to really begin creating a cultural district along the Broadway corridor. It is something that can be created with and through the community. And most importantly, it's a process that is going to respect the businesses that are already there. Ensure that we don't that we don't lose the history of the of the street and make sure that we are working with small business owners to try to maintain that as a culturally significant portion of the city for the community. I will also add that over the years we have lost some businesses, some of the bars, but many remain that you find most of them there along that stretch of Broadway. You talk to most gay folks in this community, most LGBTQ folks in this community, and they all have stories about Broadway and how important it was to them as it was and has been to me personally, in my experience coming out in the city and and meeting other people that were like me and like folks from our community, across the community. This is creating and designating LGBTQ plus historic districts is not uncommon, and it's happened in other communities across the country that have large gay populations or that have significant areas that are that are historic. And so this is something that we have been talking about for a significant amount of time. And I'm really proud, particularly as we celebrate pride, to be able to bring this forward and get approval and support from the council to begin this really important process for the community. And so with that, I'll turn it over to Councilwoman Allen. Thank you, Mayor, for your leadership. And I'm excited to work on this vision with you. I'm also proud to represent this area. These bars and businesses have been safe spaces for people in need for many, many years. They are homes away from home community centers and gather. The wrong places. They make people feel safe in our community when so many other communities do not feel safe. Long Beach has no nationwide is welcoming and inclusive. And the Broadway corridor is a central part of this history. As councilwoman representing this area and its history, I am so proud of what our city has accomplished, and I'm proud of how inclusive we are. I think that we must be committed to working on even be a more welcoming, welcoming and more inclusive. I'm proud to have supported the gender inclusive language policy for the city to be supporting the placemaking and events at the restored Pride Tower and to support the LGBTQ plus community building events and cultural affirming programing. I'm also excited to hear from constituents about what boundaries and vision for this district should be. I look forward to how we recognize and preserve this history that makes our community so very special. I want my children to be able to talk to to take their future children here and learn more about the resilience and the accomplishments of our LGBTQ community. So I look forward to starting this process and definitely want to thank you again, Mayor Garcia, for your leadership and vision on this. Thank you. Thank you. Commissioner Richardson. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. And now I'll voice my support for this idea, this concept. You know, I didn't know that it wasn't already. I always assumed it was already a historically historical district, because everyone in lobbies knows that that's sort of a historic corridor there on Broadway. I think it's important context for the entire city. Landmarking is an important process that recognizes local, local culture, local diversity, local history. But it's also smart economic development policy. The more you can add value and recognize the existing assets and see people and see their culture as an asset, you attract more interest in the area which supports those small businesses that certainly need more support and more help. So this this makes a whole lot of sense and I'm happy to support it. I think this will underscore what is truly a strength of our community, our diversity. But also I think it acknowledges history and it brings broader understanding as well. And so I'm happy to support this motion today. Vicki Vice Mayor, Councilwoman Sara. Thank you, Mayor. What a great item to bring forward during June, which is Pride Month. And I am just so proud of our LGBTQ plus community and what they have all accomplished to come to this I think point and as far as continuing to uplift the struggle but also the accomplishment and to continue to celebrate what the community have have done. And, you know, it's just I'm just really happy to be able to support it and to continue to lift the LGBTQ community forward in and and have it continue to be recognized nationally. Because I think that whenever people think about Long Beach, it's much more than obviously our Cambodian community that's well known, but also our LGBT. Uh. LGBTQ plus community as well. So happy to support that item. Thank you. Thank you. Councilman Sunday House. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you for this very, very important item. This is a very, very important step for our city. So thank you, Councilwoman Allen, also for for supporting this and bringing this forward, actually. One of the things that I will also agree with is that I've always thought that it was already a district. So it's so encouraging and so beautiful to actually make it official. Long Beach is known for being welcoming to all, and that's very important. I think that, you know, the reason for that being is because we take great pride in our rich diversity. Cultural districts highlight and celebrate our diversity through artwork, foods, businesses and spaces that are tailored specifically to create safe spaces for for our communities to enjoy. I look forward to initiating this process and to establishing a vibrant LGBTQ place district in Long Beach. Congratulations. Thank you. And I just want to before we go, I think there's a member of the public here to to speak before we go. I just want to I also think the center, Long Beach, I think they're going to play a key role in the key role in helping us bring the community together. And I know we've asked the staff to work with directly with the center to help us guide this process. And then the other piece, which I think is important, is that throughout this process, the a historic district can be a lot of things. It could be obviously ensuring that the history is preserved that could be working with businesses. Its its economic development is historic preservation, it's infrastructure, it could be infrastructure improvements. And so there are a lot of pieces that can really make this a really special corridor more special than it already is as we continue to preserve our LGBTQ history in the city of Long Beach. And so with that, I'm going to open it up to the public. I think we have a member of the public, Madam Clerk. We have Josh Newell almost. Good evening, Mayor. Good evening. City council people. I'm so glad to hear those wonderful comments, especially since we are right coming to the end of Pride season. So happy pride to all of you. Happy pride to the city of Long Beach. My name is John Newell, and today I'm representing the LGBTQ center here in Long Beach. And the LGBTQ center advances equity for LGBTQ plus people through culturally responsive advocacy, education and programs. Long Beach has made a tremendous, tremendous and huge advances in the last 30 years. And a portion of that success is due to the strong LGBTQ community here in our city. As a community, we're very proud to see these items come up on the agenda today and to formalize that the Broadway corridor is part of our culture and part of our history here in Long Beach. The Broadway corridor is filled as as many of you know, with gay and queer owned businesses, gay and queer friendly businesses. Many of these businesses have open storefronts. The nearby homes have been rejuvenated along the corridor, and residents can visit a plethora of coffeehouses, bars, stores, thrift stores, restaurants, all selling art, clothing, furniture that definitely help the economy here in Long Beach. One thing that we do need that I do want to recognize is this area has our very first LGBTQ rainbow crosswalks. Thank you to the council and the city and public works for putting those in. So I again urge the city to and the Council to fully support this item. And the LGBTQ center is here ready to support this item and work with the city to make sure that this cultural district becomes a becomes a reality. So, again, thank you, Councilwoman Allen. Mayor Garcia, the entire council, we appreciate you. And this is a perfect way for us to recognize pride. So happy pride, everyone. Thank you so much. And thanks to the center and the entire board. And with that, we have a motion and a second. Let's go ahead and please cast your votes. The motion is carried. Thank you. We're moving on to item 40.