Posted on: Monday, April 19, 2004

EDITORIAL
Urban drug activity upsetting merchants

Even to the casual observer, the illegal activity occurring in the few blocks surrounding the intersection of Nu'uanu Avenue and Hotel Street is appalling.

Of course, people familiar with this downtown location over the years realize this is nothing new. All manner of drug use and sales, prostitution and depredation has at one time or another been common there.

By day, this area is part of the historic and scenic Chinatown district. But no ethnic group should be tarred with what happens there after dark.

By night, darkened doorways suddenly light up as addicts stoke their pipes. By dawn, people emerge from urine-scented alleyways and stoops to greet the day. Bars, video shops and cafes serve as fronts for drug activities, with or without the knowledge of their owners and operators.

What's different today about this activity is that it's supposed to be long gone. The area is within the Kalihi/Palama/Chinatown Weed & Seed crime-fighting district.

This program brought the promise of ramped-up law enforcement, coupled with federal prosecution where appropriate, designed to rid the streets of criminal elements — the "weed" half of the program.

Officials have laid claim to impressive statistics indicating substantial reductions in crime. Now it's fair to ask: Were the statistics over-blown, or has someone lost interest?

We don't blame the Nu'uanu Merchants Association for developing a plan to fight the problem, including the kind of sign-waving that occurred last year in communities from Wai'anae to Kahalu'u.

If those efforts prompt a resurgence of police activity in the area, it's time well spent. But we remind the merchants that the "weed" half of the program can't work for long without dedication to the "seed" portion, which relies on the entire community pulling together. It seeks not only to root out crime but to plant something positive in its wake.

Folks in Chinatown have seen so many programs initiated with the highest of hopes, only to slink away in silent defeat, that they find it hard to invest personally in the next program to come along.

We thought Weed & Seed would be different, and it has had successes. We congratulate the hundreds of folks involved in the program's initial success — and we implore them not to let up.