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Hawaii News

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.

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.

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