WGA/SAG File Federal Complaint Over Construction Outside NBCUniversal; City Controller Investigating Trimmed Ficus Trees
deadline.comTreegate just became a thing. City Controller Kenneth Mejia has vowed to look into the newly pruned Ficus trees outside of Universal’s Gate 8, after picketers drew attention to their thinned branches while marching in 90-degree-plus heat.
Pine trees on the opposite side of Barham weren’t touched, and neither were a row of pepper trees behind the Universal fence near the production gate.
In a series of Tweets Tuesday, Mejia said his office is investigating what happened to the Ficuses on Burham Boulevard, which he said are “LA City managed street trees.” WGA picketers drew attention to their thinned out ranks on Monday.
Universal owned up to trimming them but said in a statement it was done for “safety reasons” though it “has created unintended challenges for demonstrators, that was not our intention.” “Trees are essential to providing Angelenos with significant environmental and public health benefits, especially during a heatwave,” Mejia said in a tweet. “Public Works’ Bureau of Street Services (StreetsLA) is responsible for maintaining the City’s 700,000+ trees in the public right-of-way.” He went on to say in a thread that “code enforcement for street trees (including the pruning or removal of trees without a permit) is the responsibility of the StreetsLA Investigation and Enforcement Division.
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