Death at The Fifty-Five Fifty! Someone DIED in unit 335.
A TRAGIC LOSS. a noble mission.
Spread this informational poster to our neighbors. Print it out. Share it in your socials.
Someone died at 5550 Hollywood, and we need to know WHY.
We need to know what happened so we can make sure it never happens again.
The 5550 Tenants Associations joins all our neighbors in grieving this tragic and senseless loss of life.
If unpermitted pneumatic demolition or any unsafe conditions were to blame, we intend to hold those responsible accountable.
Do YOU have info about the death in unit 335?
The 5550 Tenants Association is currently conducting an investigation into the tragic death in unit 335.
Anyone with information about the deadly incident is encouraged to reach out to us anonymously at the link below.
If you have tips about the ostensibly unpermitted demolition work that preceded the death, please share that too. Every little tip counts.
Nothing is too small when lives are on the line.
death at 5550 hollywood.
Additional Information
A RESIDENT DIED AT 5550 HOLLYWOOD. MONTHS EARLIER, WORKERS WERE DEMOLISHING OUR POOL.
A Los Angeles County Medical Examiner seal appeared on Unit 335. Months earlier, residents watched workers tear apart portions of the swimming pool with powered demolition equipment. What was in the dust—and was the work properly permitted?
HOLLYWOOD, LOS ANGELES — A resident of The Fifty-Five Fifty at 5550 Hollywood Boulevard recently died inside Unit 335.
Afterward, the apartment door bore a conspicuous blue seal from the County of Los Angeles Department of Medical Examiner.
The Fifty-Five Fifty Tenants Association photographed the sealed apartment.
The image is difficult to forget.
Someone died behind this door.
We do not know what caused the resident's death. A Medical Examiner seal does not establish that a death was suspicious, nor does it establish that environmental conditions played any role.
And we will not pretend otherwise.
But the death comes after months in which residents have been asking very different—and still unresolved—questions about environmental and construction safety at 5550 Hollywood.
MONTHS EARLIER: DEMOLITION INSIDE OUR SWIMMING POOL
Months before the death in Unit 335, residents watched extensive demolition take place inside the swimming pool at 5550 Hollywood.
This was not somebody replacing a few tiles.
Workers entered the drained pool with powered demolition equipment and broke apart substantial portions of the pool surface.
The Tenants Association documented the work as it happened.
One photograph shows multiple workers inside the emptied pool amid large quantities of broken material. Powered demolition equipment is plainly visible.
Residents also documented substantial dust associated with renovation work and raised concerns while work was underway.
That leaves some remarkably basic questions:
What exactly was demolished?
What was in the dust?
What dust-control measures were required?
What dust-control measures were actually used?
Were required permits obtained before the work began?
Was air monitoring performed?
Was environmental testing conducted afterward?
And, perhaps most importantly:
WHAT WERE RESIDENTS BREATHING?
Concrete and other masonry materials can contain crystalline silica.
According to the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, activities that cut, drill, crush, grind, or otherwise disturb silica-containing materials can generate respirable crystalline silica—particles small enough to penetrate deep into the lungs.
OSHA specifically addresses powered equipment used on concrete and masonry because of this hazard.
Respirable crystalline silica is associated with serious illnesses, including silicosis, lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and kidney disease.
That does not establish that residents at 5550 Hollywood were exposed to a dangerous concentration of respirable crystalline silica.
It does establish why the questions matter.
The Tenants Association wants to know what materials were demolished, whether they contained crystalline silica, what exposure controls were employed, whether air monitoring occurred, and whether dust migrated beyond the construction area.
If testing demonstrated that residents were not exposed to hazardous concentrations, management should be able to provide that documentation.
DID THE CONSTRUCTION HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE DEATH IN UNIT 335?
We do not know.
More importantly, we presently have no evidence establishing that construction dust caused or contributed to this resident's death.
The Fifty-Five Fifty Tenants Association is not claiming otherwise.
We do not know enough about the resident's medical circumstances or official cause of death to draw such a conclusion. Nor would the mere fact that demolition preceded a death establish causation.
Silica-related diseases also generally involve exposure histories and medical considerations far more complicated than simply observing that a person died sometime after construction occurred.
The deceased resident deserves the dignity of not having strangers invent a cause of death.
But residents deserve something too: answers about what they were exposed to.
The two issues should not be confused.
The resident's death does not prove that the construction was dangerous.
And the absence of any known connection to his death does not answer the questions residents have been raising about the construction.
THE POOL RAISES OTHER SAFETY QUESTIONS
Dust is only one issue.
The work occurred in and around a swimming pool and hot tub—facilities where concrete, structural components, plumbing, electrical systems, and water all come together.
The Tenants Association has previously raised concerns about deterioration and corrosion around these facilities, as well as questions concerning the renovation work subsequently performed there.
Residents therefore deserve straightforward answers:
What portions of the pool and spa were demolished?
Did the work affect structural components?
Was reinforcing material exposed or altered?
Was plumbing modified?
Was electrical equipment modified or replaced?
Which permits were required?
Which permits were actually obtained?
Which inspections occurred?
Who inspected the completed work?
And what documentation establishes that the pool and spa are safe for residents to use today?
We are not claiming that the building is in danger of collapse.
We are not claiming that someone will be electrocuted in the pool.
We are asking why residents of a large occupied apartment building should have to wonder about either structural or electrical safety after substantial construction work.
The fastest way to end speculation is documentation.
WHERE ARE THE PERMITS?
The Tenants Association has serious questions about whether the work residents observed was performed under all required permits and approvals.
If appropriate permits were obtained, there should be a paper trail.
If required inspections occurred, there should be a paper trail.
If environmental testing occurred, there should be a paper trail.
If qualified professionals determined that structural and electrical systems were safe after the work, there should be a paper trail.
Show residents the paper trail.
Until that happens, residents are being asked to substitute trust for documentation.
That is not good enough.
AND WHAT HAPPENS TO UNIT 335 NOW?
Eventually, the blue seal comes down.
The apartment is emptied.
It can be cleaned.
The walls can be repainted.
Maintenance can prepare it for another resident.
New photographs can be taken.
A leasing agent can open the door.
And Unit 335 can look like any other available apartment at The Fifty-Five Fifty.
Except it isn't quite like every other apartment.
Someone recently died there.
That does not mean Unit 335 is contaminated.
It does not mean it is unsafe.
And despite the inevitable jokes residents may make, a Medical Examiner seal certainly doesn't establish that an apartment is haunted.
But apartments have histories.
Prospective tenants may reasonably want to know the history of the place they are considering making their home.
California law specifically addresses disclosures involving deaths on real property. California Civil Code § 1710.2 generally provides that deaths occurring more than three years before a transaction need not be disclosed merely because they occurred on the property. The statute also provides important rules concerning representations made in response to direct inquiries.
Anyone considering renting a particular apartment should therefore make whatever inquiries are important to them and obtain accurate information concerning the unit.
Unit 335 has a history now.
A coat of paint will not change it.
THIS DOESN'T HAVE TO BE A MYSTERY
Management and ownership can answer the construction questions.
Provide the permits.
Provide the inspection records.
Identify the contractors.
Identify the scope of work.
Explain what materials were demolished.
Identify the dust controls that were used.
Provide any air-quality or environmental testing.
Identify any structural work.
Identify any electrical work.
Provide the records showing that the completed pool and spa were inspected and approved.
If everything was performed properly, documentation should help establish that.
If something wasn't, residents deserve to know that too.
SOMEONE DIED HERE. WE DON'T KNOW WHY.
The Fifty-Five Fifty Tenants Association will not turn the death of a neighbor into a medical claim unsupported by evidence.
We do not know why the resident of Unit 335 died.
But we do know what residents witnessed in the months surrounding extensive renovation work at this building.
We watched workers demolish portions of our swimming pool.
We documented the work.
We documented construction dust.
We raised safety concerns.
We asked questions about permits and environmental controls.
And many of those questions remain.
The appearance of a Medical Examiner seal on a neighbor's apartment door does not answer them.
It makes transparency feel more important than ever.
WHAT WAS IN THE DUST?
WHERE ARE THE PERMITS?
WHERE ARE THE INSPECTION RECORDS?
WAS ENVIRONMENTAL TESTING PERFORMED?
WHO CERTIFIED THAT THE POOL AND SPA ARE SAFE?
Residents should not have to speculate.
Management has the opportunity to provide the answers.
The Fifty-Five Fifty Tenants Association invites Avenue5 Residential, building ownership, contractors involved in the pool and spa project, and relevant public agencies to provide documentation, corrections, or responses concerning the matters described in this article. Material factual corrections will be incorporated as appropriate.
This article does not assert that construction activity, silica, dust, the swimming pool, or any other building condition caused or contributed to the death of the resident of Unit 335. No such causal relationship is presently known to the Tenants Association.