CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM Bare patches on Maili Beach Park's grassy areas were all that remained yesterday after city and county crews cleared away homeless camps.

Park work restarts as homeless leave

After the city cleaned up Maili Beach Park yesterday, some of the homeless made arrangements to stay at the state's newest shelter in Waianae.

But others said they plan to stay put.

"I live here," Dino Palisbo said.

Palisbo, 40, has lived at the beach park for the past two years with his girlfriend, Christie Kealoha.

About a dozen homeless people left Maili Beach Park as the city continued its cleanup, police said. The homeless had been given a 30-day notice before the city resumed its cleanup of the beach park.

"Everybody left on their own," said Sgt. Edgar Namoca of the Crime Reduction Unit of District 8. Namoca and other police officers helped park officials to clear the area. There were no arrests.

Police are expected to monitor the beach park daily, said Namoca, who has already seen positive changes. "It's like a normal park now," he said.

Nearly 100 workers from the Department of Parks and Recreation started early yesterday to work on the irrigation system, replacing plumbing fixtures and doing roof work to one of the comfort stations; they also removed shrubs and trimmed the lawn.

They also removed about 12 to 15 tons of belongings left behind by the homeless. And starting last night, due to community concerns, a permanent night closure for the entire park from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. went into effect.

The cleanup started in November, but officials waited until the state opened its shelter, Paiolu Kaiaulu, at the beginning of this month, to resume cleanup.

CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM But farther up the beach at Lualualei Beach Park, many other tents were still -- or already -- set up.

For the next few days, workers will focus on improvements to the park between Palani Street and Hila Street along Farrington Highway. Next week, workers will complete the final phase of the park cleanup from Hila Street to Kaukamana Street.

Starting April 6, the city will reopen 12 designated campsites at the park to the public. Camping at the designated sites will be available from 8 a.m. Friday to 8 a.m. Monday. Vehicle passes will also be issued to those with a permit. Only those with a camping permit will be allowed to stay at the park during night hours, said Les Chang, director of the Department of Parks and Recreation.

Since the shelter's inception, 132 homeless people have moved in. Of that number, an estimated 20 to 30 people moved in between Wednesday and Friday last week. And about 20 more people have moved in so far this week, said Darryl Vincent, site director for U.S. VETS-Hawaii, which oversees the shelter.

ASSOCIATED PRESS Abandoned possessions remained at Maili Beach Park yesterday after homeless people left their campsites ahead of a cleanup by city workers.

Police estimated about 60 to 70 people from Maili Beach Park have relocated to the shelter since last week.

About 80 percent of the homeless at the shelter are from the park, Vincent said. The shelter has a capacity of 300 people.

Julie Kahoalii, 39, who has lived at Maili Beach Park for the past two years, said she plans to move to the shelter.

Kahoalii was resigned to the city's cleanup efforts displacing the homeless. "That's just the way it is," Kahoalii said. "It was going to happen sooner or later."

Chang said they will continue to look at other city parks that require further upkeep as more shelter space is made available for the homeless.