WAIKIKI (KHON2) — Hundreds of thousands of dollars of City money are funding overnight security security patrols in Waikiki.
The new grant expands the existing Aloha Ambassador initiative, but can other communities get their own versions of the program?
Aloha Ambassadors have been operating in Waikiki during daylight hours for over 20 years to clean the street, guide tourists and provide an extra set of eyes and ears for Honolulu police. Patrols after sunset have been nonexistent until July, 2024.
“Finally going to 24/7 coverage and it was thanks to the Mayor’s office and the managing director’s office. So, we’ll have three Aloha Ambassadors out overnight,” said Waikiki Business Improvement District president Trevor Abarzua. “We’ve noticed a lot of homeless activity overnight. So with that outreach ambassador and that outreach component, we’re able to help connect them to services overnight.”
The WBID said there are two safety officers for security alongside the one homeless outreach ambassador.
“One of the guys on our team, we gave him the nickname of ‘Tiny’ because he’s a really large guy,” Abarzua said. “They do have that physical presence about them that I wouldn’t want to tell them, ‘No.’ But again, if there’s something that’s elevated to a serious threat, we could call HPD and they’ll get on it.”
The overnight security presence in Waikiki is funded through a $250,000 City grant. Leaders in other areas say it would be nice to see some of that cash outside of Oahu’s major tourism district.
You won’t get these programs happening on the Waianae Coast Valley area. You won’t get these programs happen in here, Out here in urban Honolulu, downtown Chinatown,” said Ernest Caravalho, Downtown-Chinatown Neighborhood Board chair.
Caravalho said the ambassadors would be perfect in Chinatown since they focus on homelessness and crime — he said those on the street in Chinatown are often too afraid to get some sleep.
“So, they do drugs to stay up because they’re afraid that they’re going to get beaten and their things get stolen,” he said. “So it overlaps, with the crime and homelessness are overlapping.”
A City and County of Honolulu spokesperson said in a statement:
“The Waikīkī Business Improvement District was created under ordinance to supplement city services and works closely with the City on many of our priorities in Waikīkī. This program has been designed as a pilot initiative for a very specific area, and the City is going to take a close look at the effectiveness of the program before determining whether it can be offered more broadly.
The City is open to working with other communities interested in forming a non-profit group to help achieve community objectives, such as community activation, security and cleanliness. There are many ways to fund these type of programs and they do not have to look exactly like the WBIDA. The city is currently working with the downtown community on just such an initiative and this inquiry was brought forth by a group of downtown business owners who want to make sure downtown Honolulu remains activated, clean and safe as some office buildings transition via adaptive reuse to residential and/or hotel properties. To get these programs off the ground, it takes a critical mass of interested landowners.”
City & County of Honolulu spokesperson
The WBID credited Mayor Rick Blangiardi’s help for their program.
“He stepped up and was able to help us out. But again, if other communities want this, you know, I’m happy to talk to them and happy to help,” Abarzua said.
KHON2 forwarded some program information to the Chinatown-Downtown Neighborhood Board chair.
“I did get your email, so I will be reaching out to see what we can do and what we need to facilitate such a movement,” Caravalho said.
The grant for Waikiki will fund the program for one year.