The trash was gone, part of a new steel fence was erected and light fixtures were put in to illuminate darkened corners of Mayor Wright Homes in Liliha.
"Everything’s cleaned up," said Gov. Neil Abercrombie during a Friday afternoon visit to the property to see the improvements to the state public housing complex. "Everything has changed. There was garbage everywhere before."
Mayor Wright was the site of some of the state’s most "egregious neglect" of public housing, but the state has taken a new approach to rehabilitate the property that will also be used at other state housing properties, Abercrombie said.
He had expressed concern about Mayor Wright’s security in March 2011, and the concern intensified after two fatal stabbings happened within five months on the property, the last in January.
Hawaii Public Housing Authority Executive Director Hakim Ouansafi, who was appointed in January, promised he wouldn’t rest until the residents felt safe again.
He arranged for a higher fence to be erected around the property, installed 70 outdoor light fixtures to light up every dark spot on the site, replaced the security, implemented an ID card system for tenants and created a curfew for nonresidents. About two dozen cameras will eventually be installed on the property. So far, the fights and drug dealing have stopped, he said.
He said a community garden and new playground will be built at the complex in about six months.
Abercrombie said the $700,000 in improvements will revive the community and help residents feel as if they’re living in a home rather than "occupying space" in public housing.
During his tour of the property, Abercrombie stopped to admire a garden of medicinal plants grown by 53-year-old resident Paulo Leuta, who thanked Abercrombie and housing officials for the improvements.
"I’m so happy for the fence, too, because now we can sleep, knowing it’s protecting us," Leuta told the governor.
Ouansafi said when the fence is finished, security will check the ID of every person entering the property 24 hours a day, and visitors will have to get a pass.
Not everyone appreciated the changes.
"Like a prison over here," shouted 19-year-old Era Tuitele as Abercrombie strolled by. "We don’t need the fence. We don’t need all this."
Tuitele said officials visited her Friday and told her to clean up her yard before the governor’s visit.
"They need to fix the inside of our houses before they fix the outside," she said.
Ouansafi said his priority has been on improving security, but since becoming executive director he’s reduced a backlog of 2,500 work orders to 70. About 50 out-of-order units have been repaired and filled, and the remaining 20 empty units will be ready in about three months. Ouansafi said he plans to launch a maintenance program that will ensure every unit receives a regular inspection for repairs.
Gloria Castro, vice president of the Mayor Wright Tenants Association, said most residents support the changes, and those who don’t haven’t attended the board meetings and don’t understand what is happening or are trying to break the rules themselves. She said the security also curbed the late-night drinking and fighting.
"We really appreciate it because we have a lot of elderly people, and they need quiet," she said.