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| The Ghost Ship Warehouse fire Oakland, California nbcnews.com |
Current events are in the blogosphere. Specifically, the December 2nd massive fire that tore through the Ghost Ship Warehouse in Oakland, California. The Warehouse was home to about twenty-five creatives and on that night, the residents opened their doors for a concert. As the concert got underway, a fire ignited at the back of the building. The cause of the fire is still under investigation but was is known, is the flames traveled quickly through the interior, fueled by the maze of wooden palettes and improvised hallways packed to the rafters with supplies and used furniture. Panic ensued as people rushed to get out of the only two exits. Thirty-six people died as a result of the fire.
The people who lived in the Warehouse were doing so illegally; the building had a permit to operate as warehouse not as a residence. Steep Bay Area rents have made housing more inaccessible,thus forced low-income people and creatives into finding alternative, often illegal, situations. Some examples of alternative frequently illegal housing situations include shipping containers and overcrowded group homes. These alternatives have proliferated but they are also subject to same market forces that flow through the greater market. Ms. Anzilotti quotes from a New York Times article,
That has given outsize power to the so-called master tenants who control the lease of the building and, at least in some cases, can make money by subletting to struggling artists willing to live in substandard conditions. (http://www.nytimes.com; date accessed Dec. 12, 2016)
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| The aftermath of the Ghost Ship Warehouse Fire Oakland, California abc7news.com |
Eillie Anzilotti writes, "Perhaps because they had few other options." The Ghost Ship was a magnet for the creative community and affordable rent however, they found themselves subject to a negligent landlord with a history of ignoring requests for maintenance and building safety code compliance. A criminal investigation was launched this past weekend. So where do artists live?
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| The Arts District Los Angeles, California blogs.kcrw.com |
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| Mural by the Middle East Children's Alliance Oakland, California mecaforpeace.org |
For decades, Oakland has been home to a thriving creative subculture, overshadowed by the city's reputation for violence and poverty. Only when displaced creatives from San Francisco migrated across The Bay in the beginning for the 2000s did Oakland's art scene garner the attention it richly deserved. This is unlike the what happened to Downtown Los Angeles after a long and dangerous fallow period. Its revival is not the result of real estate developers-who are reaping the profits-rather from creatives who flocked to the neighborhood from around the world and the country. (Ibid). Oakland's monthly art walks draw an an estimated crowd of 20,000 and cited as a force of the city's revitalization. Art galleries dot the once sparse downtown.
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| Candlelight vigil for the Ghost Ship Warehouse victims Oakland, California pitchfork.com |
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| Charred exterior of the Ghost Ship Warehouse Oakland, California wgno.com |
For many of the city's young, creative folks of color, underground venues are vital: They establish community and identity when mainstream clubs and arts institutions aren't accessible.
Over the past few years, evictions and closures of the make-shift spaces have become commonplace as profit hungry developers hungrily eye the properties. A live-work space like the Ghost Ship was a last stand, of sorts, against the forces of displacement. Austin Allyn add, "Of course safety matters, but a rapid regulatory crackdown will almost certainly lead to evictions, which will, in turn, contribute to the city's homelessness problem..." (http://www.latimes.com) Mr. Allyn is referring to Los Angeles's ongoing homelessness problem but the same can be said about Oakland.
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| Tribute to the Ghost Ship victims Oakland, California sfgate.com |
Which way forward? The way forward begins with Oakland not condemning and shutting down the warehouses. Condemning and shutting down the warehouses and artist spaces would destroy the creative culture and provide developers with ample motive to swoop in and create more profitable venues at the price of distancing artists from a chance at living in the city. Mr. Allyn writes, "...There has to be another solution; some way to encourage landlords to make safety improvements without removing converted spaces from the housing mix." (Ibid)
The City of Oakland must undertake a rigorous self-examination and come with a multi-pronged approach to supporting the creative community. Sarah Karlinshly, a senior policy advisor at the Bay-Area based advocacy group SPUR (http://www.spur.org) told Ms. Anzilotti,
The city has a responsibility for keeping people safe...it should work with owners to bring the properties into compliance, rather than allowing them to persist as an open secret, like the Ghost Ship was.
The city also has the responsibility to provide more affordable housing units. To that end, there are some rays of hope. Ms. Karlinsky said,
Oakland has recently approved two separate grants, totality over $600 million, to increase the supply of affordable housing...
As more creatives move into Oakland, it becomes incumbent upon city officials ensure that buildings like Ghost Ship are under better management. Further, arts building organizers forms collective safety training classes to ensure that their spaces remain independently owned and operated. Austin Allyn add, "Efforts made in the name of preventing future catastrophes may, unintentionally, make housing less affordable, and force artists even further underground-or out of their very own 'Arts District' altogether." Could the unusual nature and scale of this tragedy create opportunities for new ideas or will creatives, in search of places to live and work, sacrifice safety in the name of affordability?
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