Former historic East Oakland library branch burns second time in a year
The fire erupted about
Flames and heavy smoke were reported and firefighters were told to get out from under power lines in the area near the building.
Councilman
Gallo said that a Baptist church in
Gallo said he's seen sex workers and drug users use the building. He also said neighbors told him that two groups of people were fighting at the building around
"It has been a hazard in the past. We've had homeless people in there and have had fires," Torres said.
Streets in the area were blocked off while firefighters battled the blaze. Smoke from the fire could be seen in
"I've been in there, it's very beautiful inside. Or well, it was beautiful," said neighbor Johnni Mulloch. "It's been abandoned since I was a little kid, though."
On
A month later, Battalion Chief
"We expect the citizens and property owners of this city to maintain and take responsibility for their properties. We (the city) need to hold ourselves to the same if not higher expectations," Bowron wrote
"Obviously, public works failed us," he said in the email.
The city-owned property had been vacant since the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, but the city was unable to come up with the funds to repair seismic issues at the site, according to
After the fire in
The previous blaze was believed to have been sparked by squatters cooking. There was another fire two weeks earlier that was also suspected to have been started by squatters but it was quickly extinguished and the damage was not as extensive as the
After that fire, the city collected
Gallo said buyers had toured the property and were submitting bids, but all came back saying it would cost
"Property interests always seem to back away due to costs and historical requirements," Gallo said. "Now, it changes the conversation. There will be a greater interest among other investors or nonprofits or churches that would be willing to bid on the property. For us that live in the neighborhood, it's certainly a blessing, but it's a sad way to get where we are today."
Gallo said he has received complaints from the police chief and fire chief about the building and hoped the concerns would prompt the city to "correct the blight."
"We empathize with the need for the homeless to find shelter, but we've had firefighters hurt in these multiple incidents and the city needs to secure these dangerous buildings," said
In 2012, activists took over the building, turning it into a community library.
"The people here wanted it to be a community library, with thousands of books donated ... The city didn't want to support it. All we needed was the city to get out of the way or help us but they did everything in their power to block us," he said.
It was known as the Biblioteca Popular
After the fire in April of 2017, the library's Facebook account made its last post, stating that the fire "prompted the city to lock our gate and reinforce the fencing around the grounds of the Library."
Since then, the building has been a "heartache" for the people, he said.
"The city let that building fester instead of paying attention to the people in the neighborhood," Fuentes said.
Facebook messages sent by
Gallo could not say where the money was, but said the city's real estate division and legal counsel recommended it not be used to rehabilitate the building.
The building at one time housed one of
It was the second of four branch libraries to be built in
Over the years, the branch had several names, including the
It closed as a library in the late 1970s because the city had no funds for necessary seismic upgrades. Other groups had used the building but it had been vacant for some time before the 2017 fires.
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