Councilmember says significant cleanup progress does not erase missed deadline, encourages Mayor to enforce executive order and continue holding Lineage accountable
LOS ANGELES – With the deadline for Lineage to fully remove biohazard food waste from its fire-damaged Boyle Heights warehouse set to expire, Councilmember Ysabel Jurado today expressed outrage and disappointment that the company is not expected to complete the work on time and called for meaningful consequences under the Mayor’s emergency executive order.
Lineage reported earlier this week that approximately 93 percent of the total food waste had been removed from the site and that crews continue working around the clock. While the Councilmember acknowledged that significant progress has been made and said she wants the remaining food removed as quickly and safely as possible, she emphasized that nearing completion does not constitute meeting the City’s deadline.
Councilmember Jurado issued the following statement:
“Boyle Heights residents were given a 45-day deadline for this rotting food to be removed from their community. Lineage is set to miss it.
I am deeply disappointed and angry. For nearly two months, families in Boyle Heights have lived with unbearable odors, flies and pests, truck traffic, uncertainty, and disruption to their homes, businesses, and daily lives. They were told there was a deadline, and they had every right to expect that deadline to mean something.
I recognize that Lineage has made significant progress and may be within days of removing the remaining food. I want them to finish the job immediately. But 93 percent is not 100 percent, and almost on time is not the same as on time.
If the last of this food is out this weekend or early next week, I will be relieved for this community. But finishing late does not erase the fact that the deadline was missed or everything residents endured getting here.
My job is to represent the people of Boyle Heights. I am not going to tell residents who have spent weeks unable to comfortably open their windows, let their children play outside, or operate their businesses normally that ‘almost done’ should be good enough.
The Mayor established this deadline through her executive order. I fully support the Mayor leveraging all the enforcement, cost-recovery, and accountability tools available to make clear that when the City establishes a public-health deadline, corporations are expected to meet it – and there are consequences when they do not.
I welcome every additional resource and every dollar of assistance that reaches Boyle Heights families, workers, and small businesses. But charitable assistance cannot substitute for accountability. The companies responsible for creating and responding to this disaster must bear responsibility for making this community whole.
And removing the food is only the first major milestone. The City’s order also requires structural and construction debris removal within 90 days and final environmental clearance within 120 days. My office will continue tracking those commitments, pressing for independent verification, and making sure residents know what has been completed, what remains, and who is responsible.
The people of Boyle Heights have waited long enough. Finish the food removal. Verify the work. Enforce the consequences. And keep going until this community is truly made whole.”
Under the Mayor Bass’ Emergency Executive Order, responsible parties are required to complete full biohazard food-waste removal within 45 calendar days of site transfer, full structural and construction debris removal within 90 days, and obtain final environmental clearance within 120 days. The order also calls for continued evaluation and pursuit of available legal remedies, including abatement, cost recovery and appropriate penalties.
Councilmember Jurado’s office will continue independently monitoring cleanup and recovery efforts and providing residents with updates as the remaining food waste is removed and the recovery moves into its next phases.