Posted on: Thursday, May 5, 2005
Skateboarders call police action unfair
By James Gonser
Advertiser Urban Honolulu Writer
A skateboarding advocate says police are unfairly cracking down on skateboarders who stay at the 'A'ala Park rink past the 9 p.m. closing time, but police say they have to respond to noise complaints from area residents.
Rebecca Breyer • The Honolulu Advertiser The concerns have prompted city officials to put in a work order to have the lights turned off half an hour earlier.
Hiyakumoto, who designed the skateboard facility for the city, has been arrested twice in the past two years for being in the park after hours.
"After my first arrest, I tried going to the Neighborhood Board meetings to get them to help extend the hours or turn the lights off at 9 p.m. if the police were going to be so strict," Hiyakumoto said. "They should make it a little more obvious that the park is going to be closed."
Hiyakumoto said police on Feb. 17 rounded up everyone in the skateboard facility at 9 p.m. and ticketed about 15 people. He and two others were arrested because they had been cited before.
After his second arrest, Hiyakumoto went to the Kalihi-Palama and Downtown neighborhood boards seeking support for changing the hours or the lighting.
Bernadette "Bernie" Young, chairwoman of the Kalihi-Palama Neighborhood Board, said Hiyakumoto and the skateboarders have had a positive influence on the park, which for decades was a center for illegal activities.
Young supports turning off the lights at closing time if that would help users know when it's time to leave.
"I believe it should be closed at 9 p.m., and Chad has been very instrumental in getting the kids to leave," Young said. "The police are just doing their job."
A national skateboarding competition is scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday at the 'A'ala Park skateboard facility as part of a 34-city promotion tour of the upcoming film "Lords of Dogtown."
About 40 local skateboarders will participate in the invitation-only event.
The movie tells the story of the Z-boys, a group of California skateboarders who became known for riding in empty swimming pools.
Some of the original Z-boys are expected to be here to judge the competition.
The movie opens June 3. Lima said skateboarders should take responsibility for knowing what time it is.
"I can't imagine none of them having a watch on," Lima said. "Chad was warned about the closing time, and he said he doesn't have a watch. He chooses not to know what time it is. He thinks it is our job to remind him."
Hiyakumoto said other groups, including homeless people and basketball players, are also in the park at closing time, and they are simply told to leave.
"Why be so strict on this and not others?" he said.
Lima said skateboarders make loud noises at night and area residents' complaints force police to take action.
"If it takes them 10 or 15 minutes to leave, that is not a problem," Lima said. "We are not there at 9:01 arresting people.
"But if we have to keep on coming back, that is taking officers off the street, and that is what we don't want to do. We just hate having to go and tell people what to do when they should know better on their own. Some people don't listen."
Hiyakumoto has written to Mayor Mufi Hannemann and the city parks director, asking them to adjust the time lights are shut off to help alleviate the problem. In the meantime, he tries to warn skateboarders to leave before closing time.
Chuck Allen of the city Parks Department said a work order has been submitted to the city Department of Facilities Management's Street Light Division to turn off the park lights at 9 p.m., but said he couldn't say when that might happen.
Reach James Gonser at jgonser@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2431.
Chad Hiyakumoto, who owns 'A'ala Park Boardshop on nearby College Walk, noted that some skateboarders don't wear watches because they'd get smashed in a spill. He also said the city leaves the park lights on until 9:30 p.m., a half-hour after the park closes, which is confusing to skateboarders.
Skateboarders skated after 9:01 p.m. at 'A'ala Park on Monday evening. Skateboarders say the police are being too vigilant in giving tickets and making arrests in the park at closing time.
"It was all park users using the park for what it was intended for at the regular time," he said. "When the officers pulled up, we were in the process of leaving, and they stopped us and prevented us from leaving at the closing time."
District 1 police commander Maj. Kevin Lima said turning off the lights while people are still skateboarding could cause an injury and expose the city to liability.
Contest Saturday
