Nu'uanu merchants want drugs out of area
By James Gonser
Advertiser Urban Honolulu Writer
Drug dealing and use on Nu'uanu Avenue have been so blatant for so long that it has become commonplace, but now a number of Chinatown businesses have stepped forward to say "enough."
Gregory Yamamoto • The Honolulu Advertiser
Calling the situation "the worst it has ever been," members of the recently formed Nu'uanu Merchants Association have developed a plan to fight the problem, which they say has gone on for years and is driving away their customers.
Youn Hee Lee, owner of the New Hana Hou Lounge, and attorney William Harrison. Lee doesn't put up with drug use in the bar, Harrison said, but she can't monitor patrons' conduct when they step outside.
"Our main priority is taking our streets back from the drug dealers," said Hank Taufaasau, the association's vice president and owner of Hank's Cafe.
Taufaasau said the association plans to hold a rally and get together as many people as possible to hold signs condemning drug dealing, just as communities from Kahalu'u to Wai'anae did last spring and summer to combat the crystal methamphetamine, or ice, epidemic.
"We are not getting anywhere now, so if we can get 100 people lining the sidewalk yelling to stop the drug dealing it will call attention to the problem," Taufaasau said.
Association members plan to work with the area Neighborhood Watch program to patrol the street and will make a point of calling 911 every time they see drug deals or other crimes taking place to document the level of activity. Merchants also are starting a letter-writing campaign to public officials seeking their help.
Drive-through service
Police acknowledge that the block of Nu'uanu between Pauahi and Hotel streets is a "hotbed of drug use," despite the presence of a Honolulu Police Department substation just a block away.
The area is inside the Kalihi/Palama/Chinatown Weed & Seed crime-fighting district, and officers say at least six narcotics operations have been focused on Nu'uanu Avenue in the past month.
Drug dealers have created a virtual drive-through service in the area, with specific spots on Nu'uanu, Pauahi and Smith streets where they station themselves and wait for customers to pull up, Taufaasau said.
A man on the street Wednesday, who did not want to be identified because he admitted to being a drug user, said the dealers primarily sell smokable cocaine. A $20 bag will buy a user about four "hits," which will get them high for about 15 minutes each, he said.
One of the primary sales spots is directly outside the New Hana Hou Lounge on Nu'uanu.
Maj. Michael Tucker, the police commander for the area, said officers know about the drug dealing on Nu'uanu and make regular arrests, but shutting down the illegal drug sales will take a combined effort of law enforcement, the community and government.
Drug arrests made
Tucker said drug arrests have been made outside the New Hana Hou Lounge as well as inside Mel's Videocade, which is in the same building but around the corner on Hotel Street.
"The whole community knows about it," Tucker said, referring to the drugs and where they are sold. "We are taking care of it; it's just that on the surface it doesn't appear. We can't show our hand. That's the most I can say about that."
Hana Hou owner Youn Hee Lee acknowledged that there were drug problems in the bar before she took over in August 2003 but said she has taken steps to keep drug dealers and users out. Lee has cleaned up and improved the lighting in the bar as well as set a loud alarm in the doorway leading to the restrooms — once a favored spot for drug deals —Êso she knows when people go in. She even removed the bathroom doors so employees can see inside.
Lee said she does not put up with drug use in her bar.
Her attorney, William Harrison, said she is a small-businesswoman doing her best to survive.
"The problem is she can't monitor conduct of people in the bar when going outside the bar," Harrison said. "That is not her concern. If she ever sees anyone in the bar she suspects is doing anything inappropriate, she kicks them out and if they don't leave (she) calls the cops."
Harrison said Lee has incentive to stop the drug dealing: If she gets into legal trouble she could lose her liquor license.
Donal Bultman, regional supervisor for Action Video, which owns Mel's, did not return calls for this story, but an employee in the shop who did not want his name used because he was not authorized to speak, said the company is fighting the drug use and that he was hired to help clean up the problem.
Some merchants want to lobby police and federal authorities to condemn and confiscate the property used by drug dealers to get them out of the area.
The building at 1102 Nu'uanu Ave., which is home to Hana Hou and Mel's, is owned by Jeff and Susan Kuwada of Wailuku, Maui.
Susan Kuwada said she bought the property with her husband in September and had no idea that drug dealing is going on in and around their building.
"As the property owner, we don't live over there and don't know," Kuwada said. "If the police see that, I would appreciate it if they tell me. How am I going to catch them?"
Kuwada said she will cooperate with efforts to evict tenants that allow drug use or dealing.
"I would love to clean that place," Kuwada said. "To me, if we can somehow upgrade and fix it up, I think it is historical and it's a very nice place. But without police help, I can't do anything."
Merchants also say the stoops in front of their buildings are used every night by drug users and homeless people as toilets and places to sleep. Shop owners start every day by cleaning up the mess.
To take the stoops out of use, merchants are considering buying folding metal gates to block them off at night, but have to research building codes, which require that firefighters have access to the buildings in case of an emergency.
Reach James Gonser at jgonser@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2431.
