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Music

Owners of Ghost Ship Building Were Aware of “Dangerous Electrical Problems”

The owners were notified of the buildings problems for more than two years.
Photo via Wikimedia Commons

According to emails obtained by the East Bay Times, the Ghost Ship warehouse's building owners were aware of "dangerous electrical problems" in the space, including a transformer fire in an adjacent area never reported to authorities. Building owners were also aware of power upgrades installed in the space by the tenants without city permits, the newspaper reports, and code violations to adjoining buildings.

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Derick Almena, who ran the Ghost Ship artist collective, emailed Kai Ng, the son of building owner Chor Ng, in February of 2015 to report that electricity in the space flowed through, "ancient and violated lines of distribution" that were, "in dire need of a total and immediate upgrade."

Ng reportedly emailed Almena two days later and wrote, "The lack of electrical infrastructure was made very clear before your lease began."

These newly obtained emails serve as the first public information that the building's owners were aware of the electrical issues."Experts say the evidence could do much to bolster a possible criminal case against the landlords," the East Bay Times said.

In addition to Almena's emails, the owners also received notification of their electrical system from Ben Cannon, an unlicensed contractor and former tenant. An invoice by Cannon shows the landlords were aware of an unreported electrical fire in an adjoining auto body shop to the Ghost Ship space. In the obtained emails, Cannon also suggested obtaining a second transformer. Cannon had, 'already replaced the first transformer," and the second one was, "too small for the loads on it."

The second transformer was reportedly never replaced, according to the East Bay Times and former Ghost Ship residents.