A handful of activists gathered at the site of the former Chinese Cultural Center Monday to try and stop construction crews from working on the roof.
The majority owner of the property said the workers were simply repairing storm damage. However activists, and the minority owner of the property, said the crews were purposefully destroying tiles.
“They did not take the time to go section by section and protect it from rain, instead they raced right through and tore up as much as they could as quickly as they possibly could," said Jack Wilenchick, a lawyer for the minority owners. "It shows they did it just to get rid of the roof.”
The majority owners dispute that claim.
"The roof is not holding up - far beyond the damage from the rains and the hurricane and the roof does need to be repaired and this was done in an abundance of caution," said Jason Rose, spokesman for the majority owners.
The fight over the iconic Chinese roof started when a developer announced plans to convert the center into a modern office building. A year and ten lawsuits later, the two sides will once again appear in court Thursday.
