They had a worse Oscars than Timothe Chalamet: Many had cars towed Sunday in Hollywood

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Residents in a Hollywood neighborhood woke up Sunday morning to find Wilcox Avenue, which is usually packed with cars, empty after tow trucks swept through the neighborhood ahead of Academy Awards preparations.“I left the house to go to the grocery store at 7 a.m.and when I got 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 devoid of vehicles.The video captures a car hooked up to a tow truck and what appears to be its owner running toward their vehicle.

“There were five tow trucks, maybe more, actively towing cars,” they 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 restrictions occurred as far as a mile from the venue location.But amid the growing war in the Middle East, following attacks on Iran by the U.S.

and Israel, security around the awards show was tight.The L.A.

Police Department said in a statement before the event that its preparations included “layered security perimeters” and “traffic management plans ...throughout the Hollywood area.”This meant temporary tow-away signs warning drivers to “not stop” from 6 a.m.

to midnight Sunday, according to signage photographed in the area.Transportation officials said such signs are posted at least 48 hours in advance.

But residents The Times spoke with said they did not notice the signs before leaving their vehicles parked overnight, then awoke to the nasty surprise of an empty street.According to Crispi, street parking is heavily relied on in the neighborhood because many apartment buildings do not have enough parking for tenants.“Everyone around here parks on the street,” they said.“There’s ...