City to reopen 'A'ala Park with festivities
By James Gonser
Advertiser Urban Honolulu Writer
The city will celebrate the official reopening of 'A'ala Park from 11 a.m to 1 p.m. today with free food and entertainment proclaiming the park restored to the community from the drug dealers and homeless people that used to dominate the facility.
The city spent $2.3 million to renovate the park, which has been a haven for illegal activities for decades, but the Weed & Seed crime-fighting program and a two-year closure for repair work moved out loiterers and cleared the way for the community to reclaim the area.
"The most wonderful thing is the kids are back," said Bernadette Young, chairwoman of the Kalihi-Palama Neighborhood Board. "It's been so long that the old folks and kids kept away from the park."
The city has built new basketball courts and softball fields, refurbished the 10,000-square-foot skateboard rink and the comfort station, put in a new water system and play apparatus, made the walkways wheelchair-accessible and improved the lighting.
The ceremony today will feature a performance by the group Firehouse and a lion dance by the Chinese Physical Culture Association. There will be a skateboard demonstration, a girl's league softball game and a youth league basketball game.
Chad Hiyakumoto, who owns 'A'ala Park Boardshop on nearby College Walk and helped design the rink for the city, said the park looks beautiful, but he would like to see the park hours extended beyond the present 7 p.m. closing to allow more use of the facility.
"The hours are too limited," Hiyakumoto said. "It used to be open until 9 p.m. and that was the best time to skate because it was cooler."
Hiyakumoto said he was told by city officials that the park's early closure is to make sure drug dealers or homeless people don't return at night, not to limit community access.
Young said several downtown and Kalihi parks close at that hour to allow police to monitor park activity.
"The early park closure is OK with the residents because it makes the park safer," Young said.
Reach James Gonser at jgonser@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2431.
