How unfinished Los Angeles tower blocks are being used for ‘terrifying’ stunts

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said she is “terrified” of tragedy striking after towers in the city became an attraction for people carrying out stunts.

Pictures and footage of the towers recently made headlines after several floors of the unfinished blocks were tagged with graffiti.

Now, footage has surfaced on social media showing a person jumping off the high-rise towers with what appears to be paragliding equipment.

"I’m terrified someone’s going to fall or be pushed," Ms Bass said to NBC Los Angeles. "There are people who are parachuting off of the building."

Footage also emerged of a thrill-seeker, posted by GRAFFTV, allegedly walking the ledge of one of the graffiti-tagged towers, the New York Post reported.

"People being in that building is extremely dangerous," Ms Bass said.

"I guarantee you tragedy will take place there if that place is not boarded up quickly,” she added.

Chief of Police Michel Moore of the Los Angeles Police Department said that police are aware of social media posts of BASE jumpers at the top of the building.

Alongside the dangerous and unregulated activity, Chief Moore also added that these unfinished towers are draining police resources as they have spent time trying to contain any activity that has been attracted there.

Construction of the tower blocks came to a standstill in 2019 after the developers ran out of funding for the project, and they have since become a magnet for graffiti artists to use as a giant canvas for tags and artwork, the outlet reported.

"This has strained our deployment," Chief Moore said in a Police Commission meeting on Tuesday.

"We have called in some officers on an overtime basis, so that we can do both – provide for these added patrols or station them at that site so that to deter vandals and others from gaining access to it while also ensuring that we meet the minimum deployment requirements for stations across the city," he said.

He said police have not gone under their minimum deployment, but it has had a “taxing impact” on the department, with the site costing police around 3,000 hours of their time.

Chief Moore said as of Tuesday, police have made 18 arrests, including felony vandalism charges as well as possession of a firearm.

He also said in a post on Sunday: “Our people remain at the site as the City mobilizes resources to remove the graffiti and fortify the location. All of this in an effort to avoid a tragic fall or other calamity.

“This isn’t art. It’s a crime,” he added.

Chief Moore also said on Tuesday that council members and the mayor are committed to getting “us off of this work” and adding in better fence fortifications.

On Friday, the LA City Council approved a motion to give the property owners until 17 February to respond to the city’s request to secure the building, NBC Los Angeles reported.

Kevin de León, a city council member, said that city officials have notified the property owners in numerous ways, such as email, phone calls, fax and messages through social media platforms, the outlet said.

The city council voted to secure the area and restore the sidewalks should the owners not respond, at which point they must remove graffiti, debris and fence the area on their own accord, according to CBS.

The outlet added that Mr de León has also introduced a motion seeking to allocate $3.8m to secure the tower blocks.

However, the central division for the LAPD did post on X at the start of the month that their personnel met with property management and CD14 representatives on collaborating to better secure the property, adding that the graffiti would be removed.

The Independent has contacted the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety for further information on this, as well as clarifying who the property owners are.