Lower Makiki

The “old folks home” is located in the Lower Makiki district along King Street. The neighborhood has really gone downhill. Essentially, the area is a dump. Adjacent to the “old folks home” is a Chinese restaurant and the lovely State Juvenile Detention Center. Police vehicles are continuously dropping off handcuffed juveniles at the latter.

All along King Street (both sides) are the spots for various nighttime camps for the homeless. After 7pm, the homeless begin to set up their makeshift accommodations for the night. There is also a large number of mentally ill homeless walking around day and night.

The noise in the area is horrific. Even when traffic is light, the noise just amplifies between the various buildings in the area. Trash dumpster pickup runs pretty much hourly from midnight to early morning on Wednesday and Saturday. Lots of loud talking can be heard on Friday and Saturday night and early morning from Zippys across the street because that’s the hangout after an of alcoholic beverage indulgence.

There are also myriad sleazy bars and night clubs in the area, even along the side streets. Strangely, each sleazy joint is able to attract enough customers to stay in business. The customer profile is primarily Asian, mostly Korean. That’s Lower Makiki in a “nutshell.” To summarize, Lower Makiki spells “D-U-M-P”!

Addendum: There is a large number of motorhomeless in the area. Most of them are interspersed in various parts of the Lower Makiki ghetto. A group of permanent motorhomeless are parked along the street periphery of the State Juvenile Detention Center.