City workers began cleaning up a North Hollywood nuisance property on Thursday, after neighbors complained for a decade about the vacant residential lot where a home once stood.
The morning began with Los Angeles Police Department officers clearing the property at 7779 Varna Avenue, then LA city sanitation crews went to work.
Neighbor Robert Baindourov said there have been cleanup efforts in the past, but that “it just comes back.” He said the real issue is preventing the situation from happening again.
City sanitation workers begin cleaning up the North Hollywood property.
CBS LA
The neighboring residents say they have been living in fear for the last decade after people took over the abandoned property, where there once was a home, but it burned down.
“I can’t go outside without holding a knife,” Baindourov said, adding that his young daughter can see people openly making and using drugs out her bedroom window. He added that he has witnessed men leaving the property with what appeared to be rifles.
Baindourov said that he has made countless reports, but nothing has been done to stop the behavior.
“They said they were going to build a house and never did,” neighbor Eric Diehl said. “They were camping out here. They were stripping cars.”
Los Angeles City Councilmember Adrin Nazarian said there have been 28 calls for police at the property in the last three years. During a Thursday news conference at the site, the councilmember advised residents to “Call, stay vigilant. Call your council offices, call your senior lead officers,” noting he’s only been in office as a councilmember for just over one year.
Nazarian said the city has not heard from the property owners for about seven years. The city will bill the owners for the cleanup work, and if the owners still do not respond, the city can legally seize the property.
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