Residents and business owners of the Honolulu Chinatown neighborhood are trying to work with city officials to resolve the growing homeless problem in their community. While people seem resigned to the fact that the homeless are there to stay, there is increased frustration at the number of homeless who are using the Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Park as a bathroom, and would like the city to build a public restroom there to reduce the stench. Andrew Friedlander, the principal broker for Colliers International, a commercial real estate company that operates several buildings in downtown and Chinatown, stated, "The homeless are living, urinating and defecating in the park every hour of the day. It's repulsive. We need to get the homeless out of Waikiki. We know we can't get them out of downtown. But we do need to take care of the filth and the smell, because it's embarrassing." Downtown Neighborhood Board member, Dolores Mollring, agrees and commented, "It's the perfume of Chinatown. It takes your breath away. The stench is so bad, and it's only going to get worse when the summer heat comes."
Currently, the only place where homeless can use a public restroom is at the Honolulu Police Department's Chinatown substation at the corner of Hotel and Maunakea Street, but officials acknowledge that this restroom is often out of order due to the abuse that user inflict on the facility. City Councilwoman Carol Fukunaga, who represents the downtown-Chinatown area, is proposing allocating $500,000 in the fiscal year 2015 budget to create and support a solution.
Source: Honolulu Star Advertiser, 5-22-2014, www.staradvertiser.com
Posted by Jeff Uyemura-Reyes, Principal Broker, REALTOR®
Global Executive Realty, LLC
www.myhawaiihomesearch.com
www.myhawaiicondo.com
www.myhawaiidreamhome.com
Posted by Jeff Uyemura-Reyes, Principal Broker, REALTOR®
Global Executive Realty, LLC
www.myhawaiihomesearch.com
www.myhawaiicondo.com
www.myhawaiidreamhome.com
