Exclusive | Neighbors fume over lefty Nithya Raman’s plan to bulldoze historic $2M home for 3-story McMansion with spa

Nithya Raman may preach socialism – but she ain’t too keen on practicing it.

The California Post has learned the wealth-hating socialist isn’t happy with her $1.9 million home in trendy Silver Lake – and is planning a dramatic knock down and rebuild which will give her a whopping 88% increase in living space.

City records show the wannabe Los Angeles mayor wants to replace the historic 1948 home she shares with her TV producer husband, Vali Chandrasekaran and their twin children, with a sprawling three-story mansion, complete with a spa and two-car garage.

Raman paid $1.25 million for the three-bedroom home in 2015, a then record for a home in the Echo Park-Silver Lake area.

The three-bedroom 1,879-square-foot home boasts hardwood floors, wood-beamed ceilings, a gourmet kitchen, walk-in closets and a large deck with panoramic views.

But according to an application with the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety, Raman now wants to increase the home’s footprint to 3,528.3sq ft — and her neighbors aren’t happy.

Several locals who spoke to The Post stunned when they were told about the sheer scale of the proposed rebuild.

“This is really disappointing to hear,” one told The Post. “I had no idea. It’s a shame she would want to do something like that.”

Another neighbor pointed to a massive modern home recently built nearby, branding it a “mammoth eyesore” that they said had already damaged the neighborhood’s character.

Raman’s current home is listed by the city’s SurveyLA program as a “contributor” to the Silver Lake Residential Historic District, meaning it helps define the neighborhood’s historic character.

However, the designation doesn’t prevent the home from being demolished.

“It’s a shame,” another neighbor told The Post about Raman’s plans to bulldoze the home.

“This is really going to have a great impact on this community.”

City filings show Raman’s ambitions for the property have grown as dramatically as her increased profile in Los Angeles.

A 2022, she applied to remodel and expand the existing house, adding a pool or spa and converting the garage into an accessory dwelling unit. By 2025, the remodel had become a teardown.

The project also requires hillside grading, temporary shoring and new retaining walls.

An LADBS employee confirmed to the California Post that the project remains pending.

The expensive rebuild comes as Raman campaigns for mayor with Los Angeles’ crushing housing costs at the center of her pitch.

Raman has been a member of the Democratic Socialists of America since before her first City Council campaign in 2020, and DSA-LA endorsed her mayoral bid earlier this month.

The socialist group calls housing a human right and wants more housing taken out of the private market and put under public or community control.

Raman, meanwhile, has branded the inability to affordably house Angelenos “the compounding moral crisis of our time” and is promising to triple annual housing construction.

She also recently attended a fundraiser with local YIMBY housing advocates, where a co-host promoted her “vision for a more livable + affordable Los Angeles.”

Barry Cassily, a Venice developer and housing activist, seized on the contrast between Raman’s politics and her multi-million home redevelopment, saying: “These socialists are hilarious.”

“It’s so perfect that Nithya Raman would think nothing of tearing down a one-story historic property to build herself a three-story McMansion,” Cassily said.

Cassily compared Raman’s hypocrisy to that of another DSA-backed candidate, Faizah Malik, who The Post revealed in June was renting a $2.5 million home in trendy Venice while campaigning for rent reform and housing affordability,.

“They don’t care about double standards,” Cassily told The Post. “It’s obvious.”

Susan Collins, a former member of the Sherman Oaks Neighborhood Council in Raman’s district, said Nithya Raman ”exemplifies the champagne socialist.”

Raman’s own financial disclosures show she has substantial investments and a significant household income.

The California Post reached out to Raman’s campaign for comment.

Her first candidate Form 700 disclosed between $100,001 and $1 million in Alphabet Inc. stock and between $10,001 and $100,000 in Comcast stock.

She also reported more than $100,000 in income from Time’s Up Now, where she served as executive director before joining the City Council, along with more than $100,000 in income attributed to her spouse.