First of a two-part series
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Attorney Nadine Lewis, left, with skating coach and Olympian Cathy Machado.
Attorney Nadine Lewis is skeptical in the extreme about the late-arriving document claiming that ammonia on the property of the Culver City Ice Arena is a public hazard.
“In any business,” she said this morning, “if something is wrong, any business is given a right to cure it.
“For instance, if they went into a restaurant down the street and said ‘Your refrigerators are too warm, your ovens are not hot enough, and we are shutting you down for seven days. We will return then, reinspect and let you know if you can reopen.’”
Ms. Lewis asked city officials for a copy of the bombshell last-hour report that claims it suddenly has found a public safety threat on the grounds of the ice rink virtually at about the same hour on Monday that landlord Mike Karagozian reached an interim agreement with the Takahashi family, longtime employees of the arena, to operate the rink for six months, starting Saturday, March 1.
What a coincidence.
Irony of ironies.
Ms. Lewis is a civil litigator in private practice who represents the new tenant, the Takahashi family. She is the mother of 16-year- old competitive figure skater who trains at the Culver City Ice Arena.
Does the peril truly exist?
Speaking in the third person, Ms. Lewis added:
“It would be preposterous to think that as a mother she would file an injunction to keep the ice rink operational and endanger the life of her only child, let alone the community at-large.”
And then there was her visit with City Hall.
“When I went there and requested a copy of the Fire Marshal’s report,” she said, “and they said it was private.”
On what grounds?
“They didn’t give any grounds,” she said. “I told them ‘I am requesting it under the Freedom of Information Act. This should be a public document. It’s related to public safety. You have a duty under Penal Code 931 under the public has a right to know if there is a hazardous situation.
“If it is so hazardous, where is the hazmat site proposal?
“Why haven’t you cordoned off the area?
“‘Why isn’t there an evacuation plan in place?’”
Ms. Lewis does not cradle a doubt in her mind about the quality of the instant danger.
“I believe it is all nonsense,” she said.
(To be continued)
