Neighbors say they’ve been trying to get ahold of Mayor Karen Bass and City Councilmember Nithya Raman, who represents the district, for years. Darsha Philips reports for the NBC4 News at 11 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 28, 2026.
Crews worked to clear an abandoned Studio City property Friday that became a flashpoint in the race for Los Angeles mayor after a fire that residents said was just the latest of many vexing problems at the San Fernando Valley location.
Teams were removing trash and other items from the property Friday morning, two days after a fire at the site near Moorpark Street and Babcock Avenue, just west of Whitsett Avenue. Residents said the lot has been occupied by homeless people for years and called the early morning fire the latest in a long list of problems that they reported to the city, including trash and disruptive behavior.
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On Thursday, the city's Department of Building and Safety said the lot was declared hazardous and that they would start demolishing and cleaning out the site Friday. Video from NewsChopper4 Thursday showed what appeared to be a mattress, shelving, table, clothes, containers and other items scattered at the site.
A notice of major cleaning was posted on a fence, indicating a cleanup was planned in the coming days.
NBCLA is working to determine who owns the property and a nearby lot in a similar derelict state.
In the meantime, the troublesome lot became a point of contention between Mayor Karen Bass and Councilmember Nithya Raman, her challenger in the November election. Raman, whose council district includes the neighborhood, visited the location Friday morning and spoke with residents and reporters.
"The fire at this abandoned property was preventable," Raman said. "The residents of Los Angeles don't need a back-and-forth between the mayor and me. They need results.
"This is not a criticizing of the system. It is evidence that the system itself is broken and needs repair."
Bass said Thursday that she relies on each council district to tell her about nuisance properties.
"If that's what it takes to resolves these issues, I'm happy to call the mayor personally and ask her," Raman said. "But again, having to call the mayor and ask here is the sign of a broken city."
Bass acknowledged the comments from Raman during her news conference Thursday at the site, but said it wasn't acted upon because the property was not specifically labeled an "emergency."
"I would agree that we can improve the process, there's not question about that," Bass said Friday. "I would also agree it should've worked one way. The point is, is that when your constituents are in danger because their health is compromised or their safety is compromised, you should do whatever it takes."
Residents told NBCLA that they're disappointed after years of complaints about the property.
"The blame lies at every level," one resident told NBCLA. "Nobody truly had somebody working who cared to do something about it for over five years for us."
The Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety general manager said if there is a reporting issue, the department will address the matter. The city department offers forms on its web site to report residential and commercial property complaints.
The city's Residential and Commercial Complaint and Referral division is responsible for investigating property code violations, including those with commercial buildings, and single-family residences.
The city also has a Contract Nuisance Abatement Division, which handles open, vacant, abandoned, and vandalized buildings under a process known as Vacant Building Abatement. The process involves declaring properties a nuisance and/or hazard after a public hearing. If property owners fail to comply with an order issued by the city to clean, secure, rehabilitate or demolish buildings, the city's VBA steps in for abatement work -- cleaning, security and possibly demolishing a building through a contract that's awarded annually to contractors.
Reports also can be made via the city's 311 Call Center.
