Residents of the Hollywood neighborhood woke up Sunday morning to find that Wilcox Avenue, usually packed with cars, was empty after tow trucks arrived in the neighborhood ahead of Academy Awards preparations.
“I left the house at 7 a.m. to go to the grocery store and when I came back at 7:30 all the cars on the street were gone,” said Michelle Crespi, who lives on Wilcox Avenue near Hollywood Boulevard.
In a video posted on InstagramCrispi shows Wilcox Avenue devoid of vehicles.
In the video, a car is seen clinging to the tow truck and its owner is seen running towards his vehicle.
“There were five tow trucks, maybe more, actively pulling cars,” he said.
Wilcox Avenue fell within a mile-square security perimeter established around the Dolby Theatre, where the Oscars were being held. The Los Angeles Department of Transportation did not comment on why the parking ban was imposed one mile from the venue. But after the escalating war in the Middle East and the attacks by America and Israel on Iran, security around the award show was tightened.
The LA Police Department said in a statement Its preparations prior to the event included a “layered security perimeter” and “traffic management plans… throughout the Hollywood area.”
Temporary tow-away signs have been installed on Wilcox Avenue.
(Jason Armand/Los Angeles Times)
According to signage in the area, this meant temporary tow-away signs warning drivers “do not stop” from 6 a.m. to midnight Sunday.
Transport officials said such signs are put up at least 48 hours in advance. But residents the Times spoke to said they didn’t pay attention to the signs before parking their vehicles overnight, then got the nasty surprise of an empty road.
According to Crespi, the neighborhood relies heavily on street parking because many apartment buildings do not have enough parking for tenants.
“Everyone here parks on the street,” he said. “There’s not enough parking for everyone.”
Parking habits on the weekend may contribute to the number of cars towed, Crespi added: “It’s the weekend, so a lot of people around here park their cars in one spot for the weekend and leave them there.”
On the Hollywood resident’s Instagram post, social media users were divided in their opinions, with some saying that the city of Los Angeles should provide free alternative parking options for affected residents and others saying that Hollywood residents should have anticipated such restrictions considering events like the Oscars.
After his roommate’s car was towed, Crespi accompanied him to get it back from Hollywood Tow Service, where he said the room seemed unusually busy.
“He said he’d never seen so many people there in one day,” he said.
Before the Oscars, people waited in line at Hollywood Tow the day after the operator towed vehicles from the Hollywood area.
(Jason Armand/Los Angeles Times)
A rate board posted on Hollywood Tow Service shows a $220 towing fee for vehicles in the city of Los Angeles, plus a $115 city vehicle release fee, as well as a daily storage cost of $18 to $94 depending on the type of vehicle.
Hollywood Tow provides towing services on behalf of the City of Los Angeles.
“Decisions regarding parking restrictions, enforcement activity and which vehicles are impounded for special events are made by the city,” a spokesperson for Hollywood Tow said in a statement to The Times.
Crespi said he believed many residents were unaware that their cars were at risk of being towed.
“I knew people in this area didn’t know they were going to be pulled over because this space was empty,” he said, pointing to a nearby parking lot on Wilcox. “If people had known in advance, they would have parked their cars here.”
Another resident, Chris Bott, questioned why streets away from the main Oscars venue were included in the enforcement zone.
“We’re a stone’s throw from the Dolby Theatre,” Bott said. “Why is this happening here?”
Bott said he saw similar towing activity at the Hollywood Farmers Market on Sunday morning.
A man waits outside Hollywood Tow on March 16, a day after several vehicles were towed from Hollywood.
(Jason Armand/Los Angeles Times)
“We saw someone’s car being actively pulled off the side of the road,” he said.
The office of City Council member Hugo Soto-Martinez, whose district includes Hollywood, said it could not comment but was looking into the matter.
The city’s transportation department said in a statement that temporary parking restrictions were already in place as part of preparations for the Academy Awards.
“The City issues permits for major events that require street closures and LADOT places temporary no parking signs at least 48 hours in advance,” LADOT said. “For the 2026 Academy Awards, LADOT posted signs restricting parking on certain days to facilitate both event setup and the awards ceremony.”
