A city crew cleared sidewalks dotted with tents and tarps near Kakaako Waterfront Park on Tuesday in the wake of the state’s sweep.

More than a dozen homeless people broke down their tents and tarps on Ohe and Olomehani streets after the crew from the Department of Facility Maintenance, accompanied by police, arrived Tuesday morning near the Hawaii Children’s Discovery Center.

The enforcement action comes after the city negotiated a “right of entry” with the state last week to enforce sidewalk nuisance and stored property ordinances on the sidewalks owned by the Hawaii Community Development Authority, a state agency.

Deputy sheriffs had cleared Kakaako Waterfront, Gateway and Kewalo Basin parks Sunday night after the HCDA closed the parks indefinitely following reports of fires, dog attacks and vandalism.

As the city crew picked up and disposed of items left behind on the sidewalks — including a tent frame — some homeless people relocated to nearby Ahui and Ilalo streets in Kakaako.

Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell, who visited Kakaako on Tuesday morning, said new tactics and different approaches are needed to address the homeless issue in the area.

Though Caldwell said the city is continuing to house people through its Housing First initiative and expanding the program with construction and acquisition of additional facilities, he took a stern position involving homeless people who, for various reasons, don’t want to go to a shelter.

“I think folks who don’t want to move into shelter have to be told that, ‘This is your only alternative because where you are now, we’re not going to allow this to continue,’” Caldwell said. “That you don’t have a choice here.”

There will be “stronger enforcement by the city against those who choose to go to places where they’re not supposed to be,” he added.

State homeless coordinator Scott Morishige, who was at Kakaako with a team of outreach workers to continue assisting the homeless, said, “We cannot force anyone to go into shelter or go into housing. Our government doesn’t have the right to tell someone, ‘You have no other choice (than) to go into shelter.’”

What they can do, Morishige said, is continue outreach work.

“We can continue to make the repeated efforts to engage people because that’s what it will take. Yes, we need to look at the safety and the enforcement side of things, but we also simultaneously need to make regular efforts to bring services available and make sure we have the necessary resources in place to get people off the streets. And that’s one of the things that the governor and the City and County have done over the past two years.”

Amber Coiley, who has been homeless in Kakaako for two years, said she is waiting to hear back from a shelter. Meanwhile, Coiley said, “I don’t know where we’re going.”

Contractors hired by the state to clean up parks discarded about 100 cubic yards of trash Tuesday and stored less than four bins of property. Workers are expected to return today to resume cleanup efforts, said Garett Kamemoto, spokesman for the Hawaii Community Development Authority.