Patience is wearing thin amid a battle for control of a museum honoring San Jose’s Vietnamese community — and both sides of the fight could end up losing.
History San Jose, a nonprofit which cares for History Park and its historic buildings and resources on Phelan Avenue, has kept the Viet Museum closed since last December. The reason: Two factions of community members have been fighting for control of the Immigrant Resettlement and Cultural Center, the nonprofit that operates the museum. Now History San Jose could ice both sides out of the museum — and find another organization to oversee it — if they don’t come to a resolution in less than 20 days.
The consequences would be deeper than a change of hands. The Immigrant Resettlement and Cultural Center is seen as an extension of its highly-protective late architect, Loc Vu, a war veteran and refugee who also founded the nonprofit. Before his death, Vu announced his retirement as president in January and proposed his son-in-law as his successor. The idea opened a major rift…