Koko Crater graffiti removed

By Suzanne Roig
Advertiser East Honolulu Writer

The love on Koko Crater is gone.

Firefighters from the Pawa'a station went out via helicopter yesterday to remove the word "love" spelled in white paint on the crater above Sandy Beach.

The fire crew went at the request of Mayor Jeremy Harris, who was concerned that citizens would take removal of the graffiti into their own hands and get into trouble, said Carol Costa, city spokeswoman.

On Monday, Harris had said that the city would hire a private contractor to do the work. But then he took a different tack.

"The mayor called the fire chief to ask if he could help as a community service or do an exercise on Koko Crater and remove the graffiti," Costa said. "It took firefighters 15 minutes to spray paint over it and blend the color in with the rocks."

Fire Capt. Kenison Tejada said the squad used the helicopter to lower firefighters to the area.

"This was a one-time thing because the mayor asked us," Tejada said.

The message painted near the top of Koko Crater is among several instances of graffiti that have popped up along the coastline between Hanauma Bay and Makapu'u Point in recent weeks, marring one of O'ahu's most scenic areas.

Firefighters did not address other graffiti, just the one on city property. Koko Crater has been owned by the city since 1929, when Kamehameha Schools deeded it an estimated 1,275 acres from Koko Head to Sandy Beach.

The Ka Iwi coastline is held in high regard among residents and government. As the only accessible undeveloped coastline on O'ahu, it was the battleground between residents who wanted to preserve it in its undeveloped state and developers who had visions of homes and hotels. Both the state and the city paid landowner Kamehameha Schools millions of dollars for Queen's Beach and two parcels across from Sandy Beach known as Golf Courses 5 and 6.

The purchases assured the coast's preservation as undeveloped land.