It’s fair to say that full-service ATMs are hardly few and far between in most parts of Long Beach. West Long Beach, however, has not been a member of that club.

That changed Saturday, when Union Bank opened one in the area. And since it’s located at the West Police Station, Councilmember James Johnson is probably right in labeling it “the safest ATM in town.”

No less importantly, it gives West Long Beach residents ready access to banking options other than check-cashing facilities — “what I call junk lending or junk banking,” Johnson says. “This new ATM will allow residents full access to banking service in their own community and is a step toward equitable access to financial institutions for all Long Beach residents.”

Perhaps even more valuable to the day-to-day well being of area residents is the Greener Good Famers’ Market. And contrary to the expectation of many of the estimated 1,500 attendees who came out to the grand opening on April 21, this certified farmers’ market was not a one-off event: it will be held at Admiral Kidd Park every Saturday.

“Every time I shared that this was going to be here every week, the reaction I got was surprise and delight,” says organizer Jorge Rivera. “I think it will take some time to get the word out there that this is something they’ll have every week, because people are so used to not having anything like this [in West Long Beach].”

But fresh, local produce is only part of what area residents can expect, as Catalyst Network of Communities will bring Center Space to the park each Saturday.

“We wanted to create a place for residents to regularly connect in productive way,” Center Space Coordinator Eric Leocadio. “When we closed the Catalyst space [in the East Village Arts District] in November, the idea was to flip the model of the community center. Instead of expecting people to come to us in our one location, we want to go to the neighborhoods where people live and create a community space where they live. […] With a place to gather every Saturday morning, people can sign up for community projects and activities, shop for healthy food, enjoy music and dancing, exercise, take free classes, and offer their own input and feedback for improving their neighborhood.”

Center Space indirectly owes its debut to Bixby Knolls First Friday, the type of central community event both Johnson and Leocadio saw as lacking in West Long Beach.

“One thing that’s been so strong in the Bixby Knolls neighborhood has been First Fridays,” Johnson says. “I thought, ‘What can we do in West Long Beach like that?'”

“West Long Beach didn’t really have a civic anchor like First Fridays,” Leocadio says. “I approached [Johnson] about four months ago, and he was very open to meeting with me to hear some of my ideas. […] He fully supported [the Center Space idea] from the very beginning.”

Leocadio says Center Space is actual a complex of several spaces:

  • Healthy Food Space (includes the farmers’ market and food vendors. “We’re going to have weekly workshop, nutritional information, cooking demonstrations, things like that,” says Rivera)
  • Sports and Fitness Space (includes Zumba classes, a soccer clinic, and bootcamp-type exercise classes)
  • Health and Wellness Space (includes yoga classes for both adults and kids, health screenings, and dental screenings)
  • Growth and Learning Space (includes interactive workshops ranging from nutrition classes to career-development classes)
  • Information and Resource Space (City resources and information about community organizations)
  • Projects and Activities Space (“That’s the place where we can start to organize people in their own neighborhoods,” says Leocadio.)
  • Arts and Entertainment Space (musical performances, dance, etc.)
  • Lunch Space, complete with chairs, E-Z Ups. “The idea was for people to be in the same space as their neighbors,” Leocadio says. “That was very important. I wanted to make sure people actually congregate.”

“This is a prime example of how when we all come together, we can produce an event that’s going to be beneficial to the community,” says Rivera. “What I saw Saturday was an amazing site. This is what happens when people come together and do something good for the community.”

Johnson says Admiral Kidd Park is the perfect location, since the entire community centers around Santa Fe Avenue. “If you have an event there, everyone’s going to see it,” Johnson says. “The whole community’s transformed over the last 20 years. We needed to figure out how to add to that transformation — and how to showcase it.”

Saturday was a pretty good start.

The West Long Beach Greener Good Farmers’ Market and Center Space takes place every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Admiral Kidd Park (2125 Santa Fe Ave., LB 90810). The Union Bank ATM is located at the West Police Station (1835 Santa Fe Ave. — just over a block south of the park). For more information, contact the 7th District Council Office at (562) 570-7777 or [email protected].