June 5, 2012 – On May 22, several Long Beach officials, including Mayor Bob Foster, Vice Mayor and 2nd District Councilmember Suja Lowenthal and 1st District Councilmember Robert Garcia, Stuart Milk, the parks’ committee and dozens of LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) community members joined together to commemorate the groundbreaking of Harvey Milk Promenade Park; on what would have been Milk’s 82nd birthday. The new park is the first in the City of Long Beach and the first in America to be named after the slain civil rights leader Harvey Milk, who was California’s first openly gay elected official. Funded by the former Long Beach Redevelopment Agency at a cost of $596,771, the 9,583 square-foot park (pictured) located at 3rd Street and The Promenade, will include a memorial to Milk with a replica of his famous soapbox, information about Milk and his legacy to civil rights and Equality Plaza, an area devoted to honoring Long Beach area LGBT leaders. “We are only reaching our full potential when we celebrate the diversity that is everybody in our community, without qualification and without any exception,” Stuart Milk, nephew of Harvey Milk and president and founder of the Harvey Milk Foundation, said during the groundbreaking ceremony. “This is so inspiring to see the leadership of Long Beach . . . here today to come and dedicate this park.” The Harvey Milk Promenade Park is expected to be completed by the end of the year. For more information, call 562/570-6919. Pictured in top photo are Stuart Milk, left, and Councilmember Garcia. (Photographs by the Business Journal’s Thomas McConville)