Taggers sprayed graffiti on at least 27 floors of a partially completed downtown Los Angeles skyscraper directly across from Crypto.com Arena at LA Live, which is planning to roll out the red carpet for Sunday’s Grammy Awards.
It’s unclear how the taggers gained access to the massive Oceanside Plaza site, a $1-billion mixed-use project on Figueroa Street and has been stalled since 2019. Street photographer Daron Burgundy told KTLA-TV that that taggers had been busy spray painting the structure for the past three nights.
“I could see people up on the balcony were tagging,” Burgundy, said. “Last night there was a crew on one of the floors and people were coming out and getting detained by LAPD and getting cited and released. People were still in there tagging while the cops were down here.”
Footage of the building shows words and phrases in different colors of paint, including “set the pace,” “amen” and “SINKOE.”
The Los Angeles Police Department confirmed that officers met with property management officials to determine how to better secure the property. No arrests have been made in connection with the vandalism.
“The [security] measures will be implemented immediately and the graffiti will be removed,” LAPD wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Construction on Oceanwide Plaza, at the time one of the biggest real estate development projects in downtown Los Angeles, was halted five years ago when its Beijing-based developer ran out of money. The empty complex, which includes three towers, was to feature retail and hotel space as well as luxury apartments and condominiums.
Instead, the buildings have sat unfinished and have become an eyesore in the popular LA Live complex, which includes numerous restaurants and shops as well as the Grammy Museum. Crypto.com Arena, which anchors the complex, will host the 66th Grammy Awards on Sunday.
This story originally appeared on LA Times
