Abandoned apartment buildings in Beverly Grove could be demolished after removing hazardous materials
The residents say that their usually quiet street has been hit with a rash of fights, fires and people using drugs because of the nearly 20 people squatting in the vacant buildings.
"I just feel like we are going in a circle calling the cops," resident Anita Cavallo said. "We called the cops, I don't know, about 20 times, 25 times."
After residents raised their concerns on CBS News Los Angeles on Wednesday, the property owner said that he's doing everything he can to secure the buildings and push forward with construction. He said he's tried everything from securing the property to turning off the utilities, but the squatters keep coming back.
"I don't believe anything he says," Cavallo said about the property owner. "It's been too long. We've been asking, requesting for signs up for protection, security, and he just finds excuses or he just doesn't answer."
While there has been some progress, the neighbors called the Los Angeles Police Department twice on Friday to handle squatters and check out a disturbance at the vacant buildings.
"I personally think that the owner only had the cops here to save face, but he refuses to put the property city trespassing signs up," resident Caron Feldmen said.
The property manager said crews were removing hazardous materials on Friday but would have to wait two weeks before demolition could start.
"Since you guys and the other media showed up, it looks like something's finally happening," one resident said. "They came the next day to start removing asbestos and taking down part of the roof."
But with an alleged arsonist and a string of unsettling behavior, neighbors believe a little progress just isn't enough.
"We wake up to screaming, drugs, violence, all of it," Cavallo said. "I have to keep my windows closed and my daughter is traumatized to sleep at home. She doesn't even like to come home."
The property owner also said he plans to take the doors and windows off the units to speed things up.
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