Mayor Kirk Caldwell and supporters of the (de)Occupy Honolulu movement agree on at least one thing: The trees in Thomas Square should be trimmed and other park improvements made.
Work started Monday, when city crews cordoned off the Beretania Street sidewalk and began moving in equipment for the three-week project.
The encampment’s organizers gathered up their belongings and moved to the King Street side of the square Sunday, a day ahead of schedule.
"There’s no reason not to support the project," said camper Sugar Russell. "It’s exactly what (city agencies) should be doing is working on maintenance and repairs."
But don’t expect the detente to last.
Caldwell acknowledged that he has asked officials to ramp up enforcement of the city’s property storage law at Thomas Square and elsewhere. Property left on the sidewalk will be targeted weekly.
"We all have a right to the sidewalk, both the homeless and all the rest of us," the mayor said Friday. "And if (people) block access, then something needs to be done."
Supporters of (de)Occupy, an outgrowth of the Occupy Wall Street movement, have been ensconced in and around Thomas Square since fall 2011. By law they may stay in the park until it closes at dusk, and then can stay on the sidewalk after hours provided they follow the city’s stored-property law.
And they are making it clear they don’t intend to leave Thomas Square any time soon.
Caldwell, during a news conference Friday on the city’s upcoming budget, said the tree trimming is being done largely for safety since many of the limbs of some of the larger trees are coming dangerously close to utility lines.
The improvements are also part of the preparation for the planned 170th anniversary of the historical park this summer, the mayor said. The square was named after British Rear Adm. Richard Thomas, who was key to restoring the monarchy after another British naval officer claimed Hawaii for Britain in 1843.
"It is a special place," Caldwell said, "and we want to make sure that we honor that legacy and this coming anniversary. When we’re finished, it’s going to look really beautiful."
Their new location poses challenges for the campers. With fewer tree canopies, there is less shade.
While Russell is adamant that each tent’s spacing was measured to ensure there was enough room on the sidewalk for a pedestrian to pass, she acknowledged that shrubbery on the makai end "makes things claustrophobic."
As the Star-Advertiser spoke to Russell and another (de)Occupy supporter, a man walking along the sidewalk tripped on one of the tents and fell. When he got up, he flung the tent down angrily and told the (de)Occupy people they did not belong there.
The man, who declined to give his name, said he walks along the sidewalk to and from lunch from his nearby office on Ward Avenue.
"The tent was covering the whole sidewalk," the man complained. "It wasn’t even up. It was lying down."
Russell attempted to apologize but the man left.
"This should not have happened," she said, noting the tent had not been fastened at all four corners. "This is not the way we do things here."
Russell and fellow (de)Occupy Honolulu supporter Michael Tada immediately began to fold up the tent.
Several bills moving through the City Council would make it much tougher for (de)Occupy supporters to stay on the sidewalk. Bill 7 (2013) would allow the city to summarily remove any objects from city sidewalks that are deemed a "nuisance," without the need for a 24-hour warning.
The American Civil Liberties Union Hawaii chapter says the bill discriminates against the homeless.
