LOS ANGELES, CA – Vacant properties along Hope Street in Downtown Los Angeles are facing renewed scrutiny after a series of fires, repeated unauthorized entries and neighborhood crime complaints prompted residents to demand stronger security and greater accountability from property owners.
Residents say conditions have improved somewhat in recent weeks, with metal barriers installed around two properties and a police surveillance tower placed in the area.
The changes, however, have not eliminated concerns that some of the vacant buildings remain accessible.
Neighbors say people continue entering and leaving properties that are supposed to be secured, raising fears that the sites could again become locations for fires, illegal activity or other public-safety problems.
“Yesterday there was a stabbing a block over here,” resident Travis McGahey said. “We see fires, they’re scavenging through things.”
The concerns have been building for weeks following multiple fires that damaged vacant buildings along Hope Street.
Residents said they repeatedly witnessed people entering the properties while the buildings remained unused and inadequately secured.
Some neighbors initially felt their complaints were receiving little attention.
Visible changes have since appeared.
Two properties have now been surrounded by metal barriers and marked with signs identifying them as public nuisances. A police surveillance tower has also been positioned in the area as officials attempt to discourage additional illegal activity.
But residents say those measures have not completely solved the problem.
During one recent observation of the area, a person was seen exiting one of the properties despite the newly installed security measures.
“Look at this. Someone just came right there,” McGahey said.
“This is a little bit disappointing to see someone coming out of an area that’s supposed to be secure,” he added.
The continuing access is particularly concerning because Los Angeles has an established process specifically intended to address open, abandoned, vandalized and vacant structures.
The Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety operates a Vacant Building Abatement program through its Contract Nuisance Abatement Division. The program is designed to address buildings that remain open, vacant, abandoned or vandalized and can require action when properties create unsafe conditions.
That framework gives the city an enforcement mechanism beyond ordinary police response when the condition of the property itself becomes part of the problem.
Residents can also report code violations involving private property to the Department of Building and Safety, including complaints involving commercial buildings.
For people living around Hope Street, however, the issue has developed into something broader than the physical condition of the buildings.
Neighbors say the vacant properties have become part of a larger pattern involving trespassing, fires, scavenging and violent incidents in the surrounding area.
Video from Monday showed two people armed with knives fighting in the street. Residents said one person was stabbed during the confrontation.
Authorities have not publicly connected that stabbing directly to the vacant properties, and there is no information establishing that the properties caused the attack.
Still, residents argue that buildings that remain accessible and unattended contribute to a sense that the block is difficult to control.
The area also carries the memory of the May 2024 killing of actor Johnny Wactor, who was fatally shot after encountering people stealing the catalytic converter from his vehicle.
That killing was separate from the current dispute over the vacant buildings, but residents have cited crime in the surrounding area as part of their broader concern over conditions along Hope Street.
Information reviewed by Street People indicates the dispute has now reached neighborhood-level public meetings, where residents are asking whether city officials have enough authority to pressure owners of chronically problematic properties.
During an online neighborhood council meeting Tuesday night, participants questioned whether stronger consequences should be considered for property owners who allow buildings to repeatedly deteriorate into nuisance conditions.
One participant asked whether owners responsible for problematic properties could eventually be restricted from making future real-estate investments in Los Angeles.
No such policy was announced, and there is no indication that a prohibition of that kind is currently being imposed on the Hope Street property owners.
The question nonetheless reflected the level of frustration among residents who say short-term security measures will not be enough unless the properties are consistently maintained and secured.
Los Angeles already treats vacant-building problems as a code-enforcement matter in addition to any criminal activity that may occur at a site.
According to LADBS, its nuisance-abatement process specifically covers open, vacant, abandoned and vandalized buildings, allowing the city to intervene when a property falls into those conditions.
The City of Los Angeles also maintains centralized channels for residents to report neighborhood problems and request city services, while non-emergency public-safety concerns can be directed to LAPD.
Those systems are intended to separate immediate emergencies from persistent quality-of-life and property-maintenance complaints.
For Hope Street residents, both types of problems have increasingly overlapped.
A vacant building that can be repeatedly entered may begin as a code-enforcement issue. If fires are then set, property is removed or violent activity develops around the location, police and fire agencies can become involved as well.
That overlap helps explain why the response now includes physical barriers, nuisance notices and increased police visibility rather than a single enforcement approach.
Residents acknowledge that the newly installed barriers represent progress.
Their concern is whether those barriers are actually preventing people from gaining access.
“Hopefully we can maybe see some change,” McGahey said. “It is a little disappointing, though, because as we saw, those buildings aren’t fully secured.”
The possibility of round-the-clock private security is now being considered by officials and property owners, according to information available about the discussions.
No final agreement on 24-hour security has been announced.
It also remains unclear how long the police surveillance tower will remain in place, what additional physical improvements property owners may be required to make or what long-term plans exist for the vacant structures.
Those unanswered questions matter to residents because temporary barriers address access only as long as they remain intact and are actively maintained.
The broader issue is what happens to buildings that remain vacant over an extended period.
Los Angeles’ nuisance-abatement system exists specifically because unattended structures can require continuing intervention rather than a one-time repair.
LADBS says complaints involving code violations at commercial properties can be submitted for investigation, and the department maintains procedures for enforcing compliance when violations are identified.
For residents along Hope Street, the recent changes have therefore produced cautious optimism rather than a sense that the problem has been resolved.
Metal barriers are visible.
A police surveillance tower is present.
Some properties carry public-nuisance notices.
But residents say people are still finding ways inside, while crime and disorder continue to concern those who live nearby.
Officials and property owners are now considering additional security as residents continue pushing for a more permanent solution.
The situation remains under scrutiny as the city, property owners and neighborhood representatives determine what further measures will be taken to secure the vacant buildings and address conditions along the block.
