The Los Angeles City Council voted Friday to allocate nearly $4 million to remove graffiti and secure an unfinished downtown Los Angeles skyscraper that has been heavily tagged in recent weeks.

City Councilman Kevin de Leon introduced a motion this week to allocate funds to secure the site and restore public rights-of-way, which have been blocked by plastic barriers, scaffolding and debris.

“We're not holding our breath waiting for the developer to clean up the site,” de Leon said Wednesday. “The purpose of my motion is clear: to prepare the City for decisive action if the Oceanwide Plaza developers ignore their responsibilities and impose costs on them that the City has incurred.”

The motion would put $1.1 million into a fund to fence and secure the ground floor of the building, and another $2.7 million into a fund for security services, fire protection upgrades and graffiti mitigation. become.

The motion also asks the city attorney and city administrator to report to the City Council within 30 days on a legal strategy to recover all related city costs from property owners.

The Oceanwide Plaza project, located across Figueroa Avenue from the Crypto.com Arena, has become the site of graffiti tagging and paragliding in recent weeks, causing headaches for city officials and authorities alike. ing. Dozens of skyscraper floors have been painted with colorful spray paint ahead of the Grammy Awards to be held at the Crypto.com Arena.

owner, Oceanwide Holdingsis a listed company based in Beijing, but the project was canceled in 2019 after running out of funding.

At least 18 people were arrested on suspicion of trespassing at the scene, including 12 on Sunday, Los Angeles police said.

Earlier this month, the City Council adopted a motion, also submitted by De Leon, ordering the property owner to fence and clean the area by Saturday. If the deadline is missed, the city will secure the property and charge the owner the cost, according to the motion.

One day before the deadline, the owners have not said whether they will comply with the city's order.

Los Angeles Police Department Chief Michelle Moore said at Tuesday's Los Angeles Police Commission meeting that the department's resources are also being stretched due to increased field activity.

Moore said officers spent “more than 3,000 hours” securing the facility.

“We can provide additional patrols or station them at a site to deter vandals or others from accessing the site, while ensuring that minimum deployment requirements for each local station are met. Like, we called in some cops on overtime.'The city,'' Moore said.

At last week's City Council meeting, Councilor Imelda Padilla said she was surprised by how much attention the skyscraper was getting, and attributed it to its sheer size.

Padilla said there are at least four “mini versions” of unfinished skyscrapers across Los Angeles. The buildings include abandoned commercial facilities, manufacturing facilities, and family-run buildings.

A spokeswoman for Padilla's office said Padilla was referring to an abandoned building at Sepulveda Boulevard and Kester Avenue and a Denny's restaurant at Vineland Avenue and Sunland Avenue.

The fourth building is Roscoe's Hardware Store, located at Sunland Boulevard and San Fernando Boulevard, a Roscoe spokesperson said. Padilla is currently undergoing demolition work.

“It is upsetting that an epidemic that affects wealthy areas of the city is receiving more attention,” Padilla said in a statement Thursday. “But working-class communities like the one I represent struggle with this problem every day. Epidemics are unacceptable no matter your zip code, and we should have the same sense of urgency. ”

The Oceanwide Plaza development is located among shops and restaurants near the LA Live complex.