Despite nearly a decade of advocacy from activists for its reopening, earlier this month the Mexican American Community Services Agency (MACSA) Youth Center was demolished.

This decision to demolish the building was made after a fire broke out at the site in August, according to an Oct. 15 article by San José Spotlight News.

In an email sent to the Spartan Daily, Jake Pisani, the San José Fire Department (SJFD) public information manager, said the cause of the fire is still under investigation. 

“The San José Fire Department Arson Unit has thoroughly reviewed all available leads, including video surveillance and witness statements,” Pisani said. “At this time, the cause of the fire is undetermined.” 

He said that while the investigation remains open, the SJFD needs new evidence or witness testimonies for the investigation to continue. 

Victor Duarte-Vasquez, co-executive director of SOMOS Mayfair, said that they would like the investigation solved for peace of mind, but are more interested in looking at the possible future of the center.

“I’m not interested in the fingerpointing of someone, because I think that’s not going to help us get what we need as a community,” Duarte-Vasquez said. “But I think at the end of the day too, people want to know what happened for some closure.” 

SOMOS Mayfair, a non-profit organization whose goal is to address systematic inequities and better East San Jose, and the Rebuild MACSA campaign continue to advocate for a rebuild, according to the SOMOS Mayfair website. 

He said the building was demolished because the main front of the building was not structurally safe. 

“We lost a physical asset in the neighborhood that carried a lot of community history, a lot of people drove from Central Valley, the Bay (Area), wherever they were at, to mourn the site,” Duarte-Vasquez said. 

He said a lot of grief was felt from the community in response to the building’s demolition. 

SOMOS Mayfair hosted a community clean-up and day of action on Oct. 11, the day that the demolition began, according to a media advisory email from Fernando Rivera sent to the Spartan Daily. 

Olivia Navarro, a SOMOS Mayfair community organizing director, said that the demolition happened seemingly overnight.

“We had a meeting and somebody drove by and said they just tore it down completely. We were hoping we were going to be able to retain the entrance pillars at a minimum because they’re pretty significant,” Navarro said. 

However, the pillars were demolished along with the rest of the building. 

Duarte-Vasquez said the center provided food, childcare, job opportunities, late-night programs, gang intervention services and sports programs.

The center was active from 1995 to 2015, according to the Latinos in Heritage Conservation website.

“It’s crazy because right now we’re in Día de los Muertos, which is about grief and losing your ancestors and the building kind of feels like losing an ancestor,” Duarte-Vasquez said. 

SOMOS Mayfair held a youth power rally on Oct. 23 in front of the Alum Rock Union School District – which owns the site – during a district board meeting, according to another media advisory email from Fernando Rivera. 

Those as young as 11 years old spoke at this event, sharing their testimonies on why they want a rebuild for the MACSA center. 

“A lot of people dismiss young people and feel like we know better than them, but in reality, they know the loss they’re feeling and were able to successfully express themselves to the school board and speak in a community meeting,” Navarro said. 

Felicia Martinez works as a youth organizing fellow at the Young Women’s Freedom Center and spoke at the board meeting about why the center is so important to youth. 

“This space is needed. Although the East side of San José is absolutely and without a doubt cultured, it can be stigmatized and looked down on,” Martinez said. 

Last month Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors declared a public health crisis for Latinos because of economic, educational and health disparities, according to an Oct. 22 article from the Spartan Daily. 

“Instead of having youth on the streets, MACSA gives them an opportunity for youth development by providing sports, art and even being part of a community that many folks unfortunately do not have,” Martinez said. 

Duarte-Vasquez said that they originally just wanted the building to be put to use again and for the services to return.

Now that the building is demolished, the process will be more complex because it will need a complete rebuild. 

Navarro said SOMOS Mayfair will also be hosting another community event on Saturday at 9 a.m. at the former MACSA site.
The only thing remaining on the site is the youth center sign, which SOMOS Mayfair is working on negotiating to preserve. 

Duarte-Vasquez said they want the youth center sign to be preserved as a historical artifact. 

“I think it (the building demolition) creates an opportunity for us to be able to hear from the community as well, build something potentially bigger, better, with more space for the community members,” Navarro said. “So we can develop spaces built around the programming the community is requesting.” 

She said Alum Rock Union School District has an upcoming board meeting on Nov. 13, where the future of the MACSA Youth Center will once again be discussed.

“Going back to the resiliency of the community, it’s like in spite of that, this is only making us stronger,” Navarro said.