Fire at derelict Studio City lot ignites feud between Bass and Raman

A blaze erupted at an abandoned property on the 4000 block of Babcock Avenue in Studio City, prompting city sanitation crews to remove debris, trim overgrown vegetation and erect temporary fencing. Residents, including neighbor Clint Ledsworth, said the lot had been a source of homeless encampments, trash, vermin and break-ins for years, with numerous complaints to city agencies that went unaddressed. The fire triggered a heated exchange between Mayor Karen Bass and Councilmember Nithya Raman, each accusing the other of neglecting the issue despite prior notifications.

Raman claimed her office had alerted the mayor’s office ten months earlier, while Bass’s campaign posted edited clips of Raman fielding angry questions from locals. After media coverage, Bass announced that city departments were actively securing the site, and both officials used the incident to criticize each other’s effectiveness ahead of the upcoming mayoral runoff.