Homeless are cleared again from Kakaako
Bruce Asato / basato@staradvertiser.com
Campers who moved back to an area of Ohe Street near the Children’s Discovery Center in Kakaako were among those cleared out by city crews Friday.
City cleanup crews cleared Kakaako makai sidewalks of campers and property Friday, the first time they’ve done so in 2016.
The area, which includes Ilalo, Ohe and Cooke streets, was one of five Honolulu neighborhoods where Department of Facility Maintenance work crews enforced the sidewalk nuisance ordinance and the stored property ordinance, leading to the removal of people and property Friday.
The other areas cleared of campers Friday were the Ala Wai promenade, Stadium Park, Moiliili and Kapahulu, city spokesman Jesse Broder Van Dyke said.
Citations were issued for three sidewalk nuisance violations and one stored-property violation during the various sweeps. The crews collected three cubic yards of metal, eight bins designated for storage and three shopping carts, said Broder Van Dyke.
The Kakaako makai homeless encampment last year drew notoriety and the attention of the public, city and state officials after state Rep. Tom Brower (D, Waikiki-Ala Moana-Kakaako) reported being assaulted on Ohe Street in June, and it grew to nearly 300 campers in makeshift structures by August. Many of the campers had moved in because of increased enforcement of ordinances in areas like Waikiki and Chinatown.
Sweeps conducted by the city and then the state have dramatically reduced the number of people camping in the area. But at least some individuals, groups and families have simply moved themselves and their belongings to nearby areas where there haven’t been enforcement actions.
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Broder Van Dyke reported that enforcement actions have taken place in five of the first eight days of the new year. Waikiki has been cleared twice. Other areas include the Waialae-Kapahulu, Iwilei, Ala Moana and Mother Waldron Park neighborhoods.
28 responses to “Homeless are cleared again from Kakaako”
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Just one more example of the lack of Aloha Spirit in Hawaii when Major Caldwell and Governor Ige take turns sweeping the Kakaako Homeless. Why don’t they cap rental costs or raise Minimum wages to give the Homeless a chance to afford homes?? It looks like they are both more interested in protecting the multi-millionare buyers and the multi-billionaires.
HERE, HERE!! ..and, THE NAZI-GOVERNMENT didn’t even provide warnings this time… More importantly,
THE ONGOING PROMISES of IGE/CALDWELL regarding alternative Housing–have yet to materialize in a fully-functioning manner. I think it’s now safe to say that IGE/CALDWELL are evidentally PATHOLOGICAL-LIARS. And, then there’s IGE’S trained-monkey–“Jodi Leong” and the new “One-Trick-Pony”–“Scott Morishige”; both dancing to the same old tunes… All Political Theatrics performed for ignorant Union-influenced-VOTERS… (and, THE BEAT GOES ON..)
Someone needs to train you about who the Nazis were and what they did. Your ignorance about that surfaces again and again.
klastri the fake lawyer. I guess the City did not agree with you that the sweeps were illegal.
Might as well make it illegal for you and me to leave bulky items out on the sidewalk where the homeless scavenge through, and take to their pad?
They just raised the minimum wage 75 cents at the start of the year, and will be raising it for the next two years. Have any of these people attempted to find work? They need to cap the period of time that people can get benefits.
Yeah! Yeah! What have you done to help the homeless? Did you have them over your place for the holidays? Do you rent them part of your place? They just raised the minimum wage this month. What Aloha Spirit did you give to anyone?
Feel free to show your Aloha Spirit and invite them to live in your yard and back patio.
And their own pockets.
Keep the sweeps going. AS long as you have a place for them to go, keep it going!
Just a waste of time and money. Homeless probably be back in a couple of weeks or sooner.
They’re back today.
Yes but its a necessary expenditure of time and money. The homeless always have the option of shelter. They elect not to and that is their right. But in exercising their right, they cannot set up their camps anywhere they want to. So the sweeps are necessary to ensure that all of us have access to public spaces. There have ALWAYs been homeless people in Hawaii, and there ALWAYS will be homeless people in Hawaii. Its just the way it is so the sweeps will have to continue unless the City or State want to set up place for the homeless to camp, and/or criminalize homelessness.
Get used to the word, again, when talking about the homeless in Hawaii.
Honolulu, Mayor Caldwell ‘ s carousel with the homeless is on the roll again.
Well, at least he is doing something.
Yes, rousting sleeping kids at 2 in the morning, and taking their stuff, leaving them nothing and nowhere to go. Yay, team.
How about you let them sleep at your “farm”? You can then let them (kids and adults) sleep all day long doing nothing.
When are they going to start the arrests?
I think you and I, both, know that answer.
After much discussion by the City and State lawyers and lawmakers this is the best solution to the homeless problem. We cannot kill, kick, starve, arrest, assault them lest they sue us. So we disrupt their beauty sleep over and over again until they willing check into assisted shelters or return to their mainland homes and relatives. Good riddance. I think this is going to work.
I saved cans and bottles for the homeless……now no more close by recycle redemption centers (Hauula and Kahuku, shut down)……so, everything is going straight to the blue bins……the City needs every penny to fight homelessness.
Unfortunately some of these homeless don’t want to go to the shelters where they have a chance to get into housing and receive other social services which may get them off the street….if they choose not to go to the shelters then they shouldn’t be allowed to squat on public property……
Strategy will work. Keep doing it. Irritate the heck out of them. Try add banging pots and pan with sticks and trucks with loud speakers playing Revielle or some metal rock music full blast. Tap on their shoulders real nice and repeat over, “Sorry, sir. You are in violation of loitering and sidewalk laws. Please pack up and move to another location. Mahalo.” This is fun.
I concur.
I want to Thank the City cleanup crews for taking the initiative and cleaning up Ka’Kaako. Persistence will be the answer.
Enforcing the regulations is a necessity in cleaning up the park.
Build a homeless colony on Kahoolawe.
Did they take the census before evicting them? How about some coordination between agencies dealing with homeless issues!