Residents of the Hollywood neighborhood woke up Sunday morning to find the normally busy Wilcox Avenue empty after tow trucks swept through the area ahead of preparations for the Academy Awards.
“I left the house to go to the store at 7 in the morning and when I came back at 7:30 all the cars on the street were gone,” said Mitchell Crispi, who lives on Wilcox Avenue near Hollywood Boulevard.
In a video posted on Instagram, Crispi shows Wilcox Avenue being free of cars.
The video captures a car attached to a tow truck and what appears to be the owner running towards their car.
“There were five trucks, maybe more, pulling cars,” they said.
Wilcox Avenue fell within the mile-square security zone established around the Dolby Theater, where the Oscars were held. The Los Angeles Department of Transportation did not comment on why the parking restrictions occurred less than a mile from the site. But amid the escalating war in the Middle East, following attacks on Iran by the US and Israel, security around the awards show was tight.
The LA Police Department said in a statement before the event that their preparations included “layered security measures” and “traffic control programs … throughout the Hollywood area.”
This means that temporary signs are being drawn up warning drivers to “don’t stop” from 6am until midnight on Sunday, according to signs taken from the area.
Transportation officials said the signs are posted at least 48 hours in advance. But residents The Times spoke to said they did not see the signs before leaving their cars parked overnight, only to wake up to the unpleasant surprise of an empty road.
According to Crispi, street parking is highly relied upon in the area because many apartments do not have enough parking space for tenants.
“Everyone here is parking on the street,” they said. “There just isn’t enough parking for everyone.”
Weekend parking habits may have had an impact on the number of cars towed, Crispi added: “It’s the weekend, so a lot of people here just park their cars in the same spot on the weekend and leave them there.”
In a Hollywood resident’s Instagram post, social media users are divided in their opinions, with some saying the city of Los Angeles should offer free parking alternatives to affected residents and others saying Hollywood residents should have expected those restrictions given their proximity to events like the Oscars.
After his roommate’s car was towed, Crispi went to pick it up at Hollywood Tow Service, where they said the place seemed unusually busy.
“They said they have never seen so many people in one day,” they said.
A rate board posted to Hollywood Tow Service shows a $220 towing fee for cars in the city of Los Angeles, plus a city car removal fee of $115, and a daily maintenance fee of $18 to $94 depending on the type of vehicle.
Hollywood Tow provides impound services on behalf of the city of Los Angeles.
“Decisions regarding parking restrictions, enforcement, and which vehicles are towed for special events are made by the City,” a Hollywood Tow spokesperson said in a statement to The Times.
Crispi said they believed that many residents did not know that their cars were at risk of being towed.
“I knew the people in this area didn’t know they were going to be towed because this place was empty,” they said, pointing to the nearby Wilcox parking lot. “If people knew in advance, they would have parked their cars here,” referring to the parking lot.
Another resident, Chris Bott, questioned why streets away from the main Oscars area were included in the enforcement zone.
“We’re blocks away from the Dolby Theater,” Bott said. “Why is it happening here?”
Bott said he saw a similar hauling operation at the Hollywood Farmers Market on Sunday morning.
“We saw someone’s car struggling on the side of the road,” he said.
The office of City Council member Hugo Soto-Martínez, whose district includes Hollywood, said he could not comment but was looking into the matter.
The city’s Department of Transportation said in a statement that the temporary parking restrictions were put in place in advance as part of preparations for the Academy Awards.
“The City issues permits for major events that require road closures and LADOT temporary no-parking signs 48 hours in advance,” LADOT said. “For the 2026 Academy Awards, LADOT posted parking restriction signs on certain days to facilitate event setup and the awards ceremony,”
