Michael K. Green Skatepark opened yesterday to an eager crowd of skaters who had been waiting for the 14th Street Park facelift for a looooooooong time. The skaters and family members collected petitions to get the new park named after the aspiring pro-skater who was fatally shot by gang members. Mike’s mother, Laurietta, and skate legend Mike Valley spoke during the opening ceremony and Mike’s younger brother, William Anderson, kicked off the sesh by skatin’ down the ramp and blastin’ through the ribbon. A bunch of LB pros showed up to support the park including: Rob Gonzalez and Chad Tim-Tim, who are also featured in On The Grind. It was an amazing day and I was happy to see so many diverse people unite to make this happen. The kids at the park will never forget today and neither will we. Skatepark developer Mike Donelon and his wife, Chris, have worked with the kids since the 90s to help get skateparks built in Long Beach. She said somethin’ to me that I’ll never forget and it pretty much sums up how we all felt.
“It’s the best skatepark in the worst neighborhood and it was made with love. Love started it and love ended it…” - Chris Donelon
