\u201cNithya Raman wants to lead the whole city,\u201d said a Bass campaign social media post, but after six years in office \u201cshe can\u2019t even get a single lot cleaned up in her own district.\u201d<\/p>\n
Raman shot back, saying she had alerted the mayor\u2019s office about the nuisance property 10 months earlier.<\/p>\n
\u201cI cannot call her about the 200-plus issues that we\u2019re dealing with that are at this level of risk,\u201d Raman snapped.<\/p>\n
The finger-pointing doesn\u2019t inspire confidence, does it?<\/p>\n
At least, said Manzanares, a retired lawyer, L.A. found out what it takes to get a response from the two mayoral candidates.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe news crews showed up\u201d to cover the fire, Manzanares told me, \u201cand it finally got some attention because of the election.\u201d<\/p>\n
But festering eyesores are everywhere, as Bass herself indicated when she called in to KTLA-TV.<\/p>\n
![\"Fire](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1789252093_483_.jpeg\")
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Fire damage is seen at an abandoned Studio City property following a overnight blaze on Aug. 26.<\/p>\n
(KTLA-TV)<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know,\u201d she said, \u201cthis is a situation that unfortunately exists all over the city.\u201d<\/p>\n
A for honesty. F for failing to clean up all those messes, regardless of whether the problem is departmental failure or communications breakdowns with council members.<\/p>\n
The fire in Studio City spread to a neighboring property and damaged a structure that Kayt Miranda uses for storage and as a home office. I spoke to Miranda on the front porch of her home, and she said she had filed multiple complaints about the nuisance property over a five-year period.<\/p>\n
Five years.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd we never heard back,\u201d Miranda said, telling me she had seen people set up camp at the property, bringing in mattresses, book shelves and clothing racks. \u201cThen we went to Raman\u2019s office \u2026 They would send responses, but \u2026 we never saw any action.\u201d<\/p>\n
Manzanares showed me an email from a Raman staffer last month that said, \u201cunfortunately, there is not a clear and expeditious path forward on this case.\u201d<\/p>\n
Why not? Was it going to take another five years?<\/p>\n
Miranda said exasperated neighbors had banded together to put up more lighting and cameras to protect their properties, \u201cbut it really did feel like this is forever, because nothing was going to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
When I was done in Studio City, I drove across town to meet with construction worker and pastor Juan Galicia<\/a>, whose house was torched in March when fire jumped from an adjacent abandoned property.<\/p>\n I had first heard about Galicia in April, when I toured a nearby Hollywood neighborhood for a column about a homeowner who had hired her housekeeper<\/a> to report illegal dumping, help bag up the daily mess and try to reduce the fire risk around encampments. The city wasn\u2019t doing its job, Stefanie Keenan had told me, so she was spending her own money to protect herself and neighbors. And she still is.<\/p>\n Galicia didn\u2019t get the protection he needed, despite multiple contacts with police and city offices \u2014 by him, relatives and neighbors \u2014regarding the empty dwelling next door to his on North St. Andrews Place. Galicia said squatters were in and out of the house, with periodic fighting and drug use. Police would come, he said, but when they left, the trouble would return.<\/p>\n Galicia was preaching at his church in South L.A. when flames engulfed his home, where he lived with an extended family of 10.<\/p>\n \u201cEighteen years,\u201d he said of his time in the house. \u201cAnd in 10 minutes, you have nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n I followed him into the house, with its charred walls, ceiling and flooring. Galicia wore a somber expression, as if still suffering from the shock, and he saw new evidence of trespassers, along with some fresh graffiti.<\/p>\n Galicia told me, as he told The Times\u2019 Seamus Bozeman in July<\/a>, that he intends to rebuild. But his insurance settlement won\u2019t cover the cost of rebuilding, and he\u2019s still paying $2,000 a month on the mortgage, plus $6,200 for temporary lodging in a rented house.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, as he struggles with a crushing financial problem he did not create, he\u2019s aware that millions are being spent on homelessness without significant progress.<\/a><\/p>\n Aerial view of Larchmont home belonging to Pastor Juan Galicia that was destroyed by a fire that began at a vacant property next door.<\/p>\n (Robert Gauthier\/Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t understand,\u201d Galicia said.<\/p>\n A spokesperson for City Councilmember Hugo Soto-Mart\u00ednez told me his office became aware of Galicia\u2019s issue in January, but because of paperwork and the complexity of legal records, could not track down the owner of the adjacent property before the fire.<\/p>\n In L.A., people trip and fall in droves and successfully sue the city for millions. I wondered if Galicia might have a liability case against the city, but two attorneys told me going after the next-door property owner could be more fruitful.<\/p>\n In a Sept. 5 press release, Bass said she was directing city crews to clean and secure nuisance properties citywide. OK, fine, but what took her so long?<\/p>\n Bass also said she had earlier signed legislation initiated by Councilmember Monica Rodriguez to speed the process of cracking down <\/a>on negligent property owners and to hit them with stiffer penalties.<\/p>\n Those fines ought to go into a fund to assist Juan Galicia and others like him.<\/p>\n![\"Aerial](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1789252094_390_.jpeg\")
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