Sanitation crews cleared an abandoned property in North Hollywood after neighbors complained for years about crime, drug use, and safety hazards. The lot has been vacant since 2009 and attracted 28 calls for service since early 2023.
Sanitation crews cleared an abandoned property in North Hollywood on Thursday after neighbors complained for years about crime, drug use, and other safety hazards.
The lot at 7779 Varna Avenue, located along the Tujunga Wash, was overrun with homeless encampments, drug paraphernalia, and debris. The property has been vacant since a home burned down there in 2009.
Los Angeles City Councilmember Adrin Nazarian secured a declaration of public nuisance for the property. The Los Angeles Board of Public Works voted to abate the nuisance, paving the way for police and sanitation workers to clear the site at the owners expense.
Residents have been living in fear for over a decade. The property has attracted unauthorized occupants who turned the lot into what some neighbors described as a junkyard and a magnet for criminal activity.
Neighbor Robert Baindourov said he has lived in the area for more than ten years. He told CBS Los Angeles he can witness people openly making and using drugs out of his daughter bedroom window. Baindourov said he has made countless reports about the property but nothing has been done until now.
A nearby resident named JJ said at a news conference that kids cannot play in the street and neighbors cannot walk their dogs. He added that mothers cannot walk their baby strollers because the neighborhood is unsafe.
JJ said insurance companies will not insure homes in the area because of the property across the street.
According to Councilmember Nazarian, there have been 28 calls for service at the property since the beginning of 2023. He said 18 calls were initiated by residents and 10 by the Los Angeles Police Department.
The calls have been for assaults, reports involving firearms, gang-related activities, and drug use. Nazarian said he attended a Board of Public Works hearing last week where he described the situation as horrifying.
One neighbor who attended the meeting told the board that a man who lived at the lot had been walking up and down the wash with what appeared to be an AR-15 and a crack pipe in his mouth, pointing the rifle at the homes.
Nazarian told the board, Please shut it down.
City records identify the property owners as Guadalupe Castrellon and Sofia Carillo. Nazarian said the city has not heard from the owners for about seven years.
The Los Angeles City Council approved the declaration of public nuisance last month. The city will bill the owners for the cleanup work. If the owners still do not respond, the city can legally seize the property.
Nazarian said Long neglected and ultimately abandoned by its owners, unauthorized occupants have turned the lot into an illegal junkyard and a magnet for criminal activity.
Police officers cleared the property at the start of the day, then Los Angeles city sanitation crews went to work removing abandoned vehicles, car parts, hypodermic needles, drug paraphernalia and other trash and debris.
The lot had accumulated trash and rubble, including furniture, cans, a trailer and even a toilet.
Nazarian told reporters at the site that the vacant lot has been a serious concern to the North Hollywood West community for over a decade.
Neighbor Eric Diehl said the owners told them they were going to build a house but never did. He said they were camping out there and stripping cars.
Neighbor Robert Baindourov said it just comes back when there are cleanup efforts in the past. He said the real issue is preventing the situation from happening again.
Councilmember Nazarian advised residents to call, stay vigilant, call your council offices, call your senior lead officers, noting he has only been in office as a councilmember for just over one year.
Eyewitness News has not been able to contact the property owner.
This article was generated with AI assistance.