Abandoned home turns into nuisance for North Hollywood neighborhood

Neighbors on Varna Avenue in North Hollywood said they have been living in fear for the last decade after people took over an abandoned home.

"I can't go outside without holding a knife," neighbor Robert Baindourov said. 

Baindourov and his neighbors said the owner of the home has been absent for at least 10 years since a fire destroyed it. Neighbors said people have turned into a trash-infested drug house. 

"They said they were going to build a house and never did," neighbor Eric Diehl said. "They were camping out here. They were stripping cars."

Baindourov said his young daughter can see the people openly making and using drugs out her bedroom window. He added that he has witnessed men leaving the property with what appeared to be rifles. 

He said that he has made countless reports but nothing has been done to stop the behavior. 

"I bought this house. The whole 10 years, it's like this," Baindourov said. "What has my daughter learned? That no one is going to help you?"

Los Angeles City Councilmember Adrin Nazarian said there have been 28 calls for police at the property in the last three years. 

"No one should be living in fear in their community," he said. 

Last Friday, the council agreed to declare the home a nuisance property. Nazarian's office is now working with the sanitation department to begin the legal cleanup process and to bill the property owner. If they don't pay, the city can have the property serve as collateral. 

Neighbors said this is the first step they've been praying for. Nazarian said he hopes he can begin cleaning up by the end of the week. 

"That is not the behavior you want to allow," Nazarian said. "That is not a breakdown of society that I want to see happen in Los Angeles."