OAKLAND — The landlord of the Ghost Ship warehouse is moving forward with demolition plans, but attorneys representing the families of the 36 victims do not want the building sold, the lawyers said in a court hearing Tuesday.
Attorneys in a civil lawsuit filed by the victim families had earlier asked a judge to preserve the building until evidence was collected and examined, which is now complete.
“It’s one thing to tear it down,” but “we don’t think they should be able to sell,” lead plaintiff attorney Mary Alexander said, later calling the Fruitvale district warehouse an “asset” to the property owners fighting a costly lawsuit.
Landlord Chor Ng and her family, who are defendants in the lawsuit, applied for the demolition in August and it was posted on the fence of the charred building a month later. But city spokeswoman Karen Boyd said the owners and contractors will have to reapply for a new permit because they listed the address incorrectly in the first application.
The Ng family bought the property on 31st Avenue in the late 1980s, along with the rest of the block, and buildings around the corner on International Boulevard. The family owns about a dozen buildings total in Oakland, including two in Chinatown.
The 10,000-square-foot warehouse was zoned only for commercial use, but master tenant Derick Almena rented the space as a residence for more than 20 people, in violation of his lease agreement, records show. Almena and fellow tenant Max Harris are each facing 36 counts of involuntary manslaughter for people who died in the deadly Dec. 2, 2016 blaze, and are scheduled for trial next year.
The Ng family attorney has argued the building should be torn down because it poses a safety threat to people who walk near it. Protecting the building has also been costly for the Ngs: the court has ordered the Ngs to pay for around-the-clock security to ensure evidence is not tampered with.
Alexander said her clients are OK with the demolition, but want a memorial at the site. The attorney said the vacant lot next door to the warehouse, which the Ngs also own, is a fitting place.
“I’d like to have some memorial that puts in all the names of the victims, Alexander said outside of court Tuesday afternoon. “I think that’s always poignant, like the Vietnam Memorial.”
A date for the demolition has not been set.