Aerial images showed phrases such as “set the pace” and “amen” spray painted on the building.
Graffiti artists have painted 27 floors of a dormant skyscraper in downtown Los Angeles, Oceanwide Plaza, a $1 billion mixed-use retail and luxury apartment project. KTLA5 reported.
Construction of the skyscraper stalled in January 2019 due to the Beijing-based developer's lack of funds to complete the project.
It is unclear how those responsible for the graffiti covering much of the building's exterior gained entry to the site, or when they began their illegal project.
However, one witness, Daron Borgoña, who is a street photographer, said graffiti artists had been bombarding the building with spray paint for the past three nights.
“I could see people on the balcony tagging and everything,” Burgoña said. KTLA5. “Last night there was a crew on one of the floors and people were coming out and being detained by the LAPD, cited and released. People were still there marking while the cops were here.”
A video posted to the Citizen app on January 30 showed a person working on graffiti on the balcony of a building.
Aerial images showed phrases such as “beat the beat” and “amen” spray-painted on buildings, along with labels such as “SINKOE”, “XN28”, “ROSEK” and “AMI”.
Burgundy said he is surprised it took so long for taggers to get to the buildings because the construction site has been empty for years, adding that he heard people were coming from out of state to tag the structures.
“LAPD mentioned there might be an Instagram post floating around and apparently inviting people to come over. It's been awesome to see. It's kind of interesting. It's not so fancy around here anymore.”
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) arrested two residents in connection with the illegal art installation, citing trespass and release.
However, the LAPD Central Division met with a representative from Council District 14, led by Kevin de León, to discuss how to secure the development and add additional security measures.
“Measures will be implemented immediately and graffiti will be removed,” the LAPD said on X, formerly Twitter.
