Aloha,
I am dealing with noise caused by loitering in the parking deck of 1680 Kapiolani Blvd. I live [nearby] and my unit faces Kapiolani. We are woken by loud music and racing inside the parking deck at 1-2am in the morning. We have called HPD about this many times. We have also contacted the Liquor Commission about it, but the issue is out of Hawaiian Brian's [where the noise makers visit] control - [we are told] it's the responsibility of the parking deck property manager. The area is patrolled by a security guard that is completely ineffective at his job - he wants to avoid confrontation so doesn't disperse the activities that create the noise. I just spoke with a representative from the Dept of Health and based on his recommendations we are going to begin documenting how often this is happening, the noise level as measured by our phones, who we called, and if our complaints were effective. I am considering taking this to our neighborhood board. I appreciate your recommendations on how to best manage this issue. An ideal outcome would be for the parking deck to be access controlled at night so that Hawaiian Brian's customers don't use it a party hangout. Mahalo.
Quieter O'ahu Response:
Aloha,
Your instinct to take this to your neighborhood board is probably your best option at this point. The neighborhood board organization is the lowest-level of elected city government and, as such, has the ability to interface across all of the agencies you have mentioned from HPD to Dept of Health, Liquor Commission, and others. The Dept of Health is also correct that you should document your calls with when, who called, complaint made, and results, if any. The neighborhood boards are becoming increasingly sensitive to the issue of noise in our community and your input would be valuable in informing them of yet another unacceptable instance of uncontrolled noise. Please let us know if you have success working with your board.
Mahalo,
Quieter O'ahu