Letters to the Editor: Large unoccupied buildings dot L.A. House homeless people in them now

To the editor: Letter writer Laura Geisel of Redondo Beach is absolutely correct when she writes that there are many empty buildings in Southern California “just waiting to be occupied.”

Here in Burbank, there is an enormous empty building that once housed IKEA before the retail giant moved a few blocks away to an even larger facility. The empty building has a restaurant-size kitchen, a large cafeteria and many restrooms. IKEA, a good corporate neighbor, would probably even help furnish the place.

In these times of a pandemic coupled with thousands of people living on the streets, it is practically criminal to allow an unoccupied building to remain vacant. A fire needs to be lit under our elected officials to make them take action to house the homeless population before these unfortunate people become ill or asymptomatic carriers.

Molly Shore, Burbank