Los Angeles officials dispatched sanitation workers and mobilized city resources Wednesday to clean out mountains of trash that surround a home in the Fairfax neighborhood.
“This is just a tragedy,” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said while standing in front of the property surrounded by piles of garbage. “One thing that I can tell you is that we are going to everything we can to begin to clear this today.”
The front lawn of the property, located on Martel Avenue, is covered with hundreds of plastic bags filled with trash and other disposable items. The piles are also stacked up on the side yards and back patio.
Neighbors say they have repeatedly complained about the stench coming from hundreds of white garbage bags that have accumulated along with broken down vehicles, piles of newspapers, cigarette cartons and other junk.
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Bass, who said she learned about the treacherous condition Tuesday, called what she saw a “public health emergency.”
“This is a fire hazard,” Bass said. “I worry about the individual there, this place catching fire, the quality of life that is compromised for these neighbors.”
Those who live and work nearby said the property has been a neighborhood hazard for a long time.
“Some days, it’s smellier than others,” said Rob, who declined to give his last name. The neighbor first thought the homeowner was making some kind of artistic statement. But as the time went on, he began to wonder if maybe the trash was a “cry for help” from the resident.
“It does seem odd that this has gone unaddressed,” Rob said.
In response to questions whether city officials were aware of the trash-covered property, Bass and Councilwoman Katy Yaroslavsky, whose City District 5 includes Fairfax, said they only learned about the problem in recent days, mostly because they are “new” to their jobs.
“My focus today is getting this done,” Bass said. “I’m tracking this from last night to find out where complaints were lodged and what happened in the process.”
However, Yaroslavsky admitted that her office did have a record of at least one complaint from December 2023.
“This is part of 8, 10 years of ongoing violations. There are 23 incidents of citations,” said the councilmember, who added the most recent citation against the tenant and homeowner was issued Tuesday by the Department of Public Health.
Mayor Bass added the City Attorney’s Office will be giving a statement to the homeowner and tenant, alerting them the condition at the property is an “imminent public safety and health risk. That would also allow city officials to go inside the property line to clean up.
