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A breathtaking downtown Los Angeles skyline viewpoint has become a nightmare for nearby residents, who say the popular spot is overrun with traffic, influencers and drug use.
Neighbors in the Victor Heights neighborhood, at the intersection of Figueroa Terrace and Centennial Street, said they have had it with all the traffic on their streets, blocking their driveways, and influencers partying until all hours of the night.
The dreamy hilltop spot has long drawn film crews and photographers, but residents say it’s now overrun with influencers shooting Instagram Lives and TikToks, smoking marijuana and drinking into the wee hours.
Frustrated residents said they have asked the city for help individually, but have now decided to organize to put an end to the chaos on their block all day and night.
The neighbors gathered at the Eastside Italian Deli on Wednesday for the second time in a week to discuss what can be done. Residents discussed forming a formal community association to keep pressure on city leaders to find a solution.
At the meeting, there was discussions about a family who lives on the block whose 3-year-old daughter needs oxygen and has undergone several surgeries.
“You know where she lives? Right on that corner where the TikTokers think that it’s OK to come at 2 o’clock in the morning, smoke weed, drink and get crazy all night,” said Raul Claros, director of California Rising, ABC 7 News reported.
Claros told the neighbors that forming a group would give the neighborhood a “platform to stand on” so they don’t have to go after the problem individually, something he said that can cause “burnout.”
A representative for Los Angeles city Councilmember Eunises Hernandez attended the meeting, and told the group the office is in active discussions with the city about the problem, but here was no update they could provide to the group as of yet.
Responses to the news on social media have been mixed, with some people saying it’s a public street and residents have to deal with it because they chose to live there.
But comments from at least one person who said they live there detailed just how out of hand they said things had become due to social media postings telling people to go there for pictures.
The person said during the day it is fine but at night people are “revving their engines being loud and obnoxious,” claiming helicopters are sent to the area every night to tell people to go home.
“If you don’t live here please try to imagine people being outside your house all day and night.”
“We have no issue with people coming to take pics, but just loitering all night, drinking and smoking, problems are inevitable,” the person added.
English (US)