Kakaako parks reopen after 3-week closure

As public parks in Kakaako Makai reopened Monday after a three-week closure to clear homeless encampments and repair park facilities, officials say the state will strictly enforce nightly park closures to prevent the parks from being overrun again.

“We are announcing new procedures to ensure that we can keep the parks open to the public, keep the open spaces open and, I think more importantly, continue to allow us to enforce the park rules during the evening times when the parks are closed,” Gov. David Ige told reporters Monday, adding that park closures would be enforced “regardless of housing status.”

Earlier this month the state shuttered Kakaako Waterfront Park, Kakaako Gateway Park and Kewalo Basin Park for safety reasons and to make repairs as large homeless encampments sprang up in the parks. About 180 homeless people were swept out of the area after causing an estimated half-million dollars in damage to plumbing, power poles and landscaping.

Kewalo Basin and Kakaako Gateway parks were reopened Monday along with the Point Panic area of Kakaako Waterfront Park. Waterfront Park and its parking lot, however, remain closed as repair work continues.

Ige said the Hawaii Community Development Authority, the state agency that manages the parks, plans to contract a private security firm next month to provide homeless outreach services and removal and storage of property, in addition to security. He did not disclose the value of the contract, which is still in the procurement phase.

“The security contractor will be doing all of those things, which will allow us to, when the parks close, enforce the park closure hours,” Ige said. “The parks are for all the people to enjoy.”

He added, “It’s not illegal to be homeless. We will continue to offer services. … We need to provide the homeless the opportunity to move to a shelter, we need to make sure that shelter space is available and that if they do have personal property, then we are obligated to store that.”

Jesse Souki, HCDA’s executive director, said he hopes to have the security contract in place by Nov. 17. In the meantime, state sheriff’s deputies will continue to enforce park closures, he said.

“We’d like to not have the parks go back to what it was, and we have strategies in place to prevent that until our new contract is in place,” Souki said.

Ige said the stepped-up enforcement in Kakaako is part of a larger effort to maintain access and ensure safety on state lands. Other enforcement activities are underway along the H-1 freeway and Nimitz Highway, and state-controlled properties including Sand Island, Kalihi Stream and Diamond Head.

“We are beginning to enforce in that whole area from Kakaako all the way through the Nimitz viaduct and out to Nimitz Highway … to be more vigilant in keeping public spaces public — most importantly, public lands safe for our community,” Ige said.

“It has become clear and there will be a requirement to enforce trespass on state lands pretty much year-round, so that’s what we’re looking at: what would that require, what would the staffing requirements be, how best to organize that effort.”

The governor said he’s assigned his newly appointed administrative director, Ford Fuchigami, to oversee the effort.