Disappeared News

by Larry Geller

We visited Chinatown for a Sunday brunch of dim sum at Tai Pan. They’ve expanded and redecorated. The food is as good as ever, and the larger space is attractive. With the larger space, Tai Pan is a dim sum force to reckon with. I hope not too many tourists read this and spoil our little secret.

Outside, though, is a festering wasteland where people used to gather and enjoy the riverside ambiance.  Mayor Mufi yanked the trellis tops off the seating areas to stop crime, but left the area blighted and ugly. As we walked along the river towards our restaurant, no one was seated in the area. When we left later, still no one was in the area  (see: The uglification of Honolulu, 6/13/2010). Without the shelter of the trellis tops, the seating is useless. It’s a jungle of concrete and purposeless columns.

The area is deteriorating. Brackets at the top of the posts, aside from being ugly, are rusting. Light fixtures are broken, and chunks of some posts are missing (see top picture below).

The area is abandoned, derelict, and an eyesore.

Mufi is no longer mayor. Someone should fix the mess he left behind.

Ideally, putting the trellis tops back would restore the ambiance of the area and provide much-needed riverside shade.

Leaving the abandoned posts to rot in the sun makes them monuments to incompetent city management and neglect of duty.

Do you remember those signs that mayors Fasi and Harris were fond of putting up at construction areas, making public works projects look like their personal projects? Someone should put up a sign like that with Mufi’s name on it. Or at least hang up some Mufi for Governor signs on the posts. Just to remind us whom to thank, of course.

Permalink posted by Larry @ 8/11/2010 07:23:00 AM