A GARDENER is desperately looking for solutions as she’s being forced to pick up dozens of piles of human feces every month on her plot of land.
She’s looking at a $30,000 bill after the city government refused to help install a privacy fence and stave off the growing problem.
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Amanda Kirby, vice president of Makiki Community Garden, said she’s having to clean up human feces left by homeless people Credit: KHON
She said she’s cleaning up around 30 disgusting messes a month Credit: KHON
Disturbed vagrants are completely ransacking the Makiki Community Garden in Honolulu, Hawaii, by stealing produce and defecating on the grounds.
Members say they’re living in fear, with some locking themselves inside their tiny square plots to avoid being harassed while they work.
The garden was set to get some extra security in a privacy fence after the city set aside some cash – but the project was abruptly pulled in April.
Now, gardeners are having to try and manage the chaos themselves – and potentially put their funds together for an expensive project.
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“We’re kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place,” Amanda Kirby, vice president of Makiki Community Garden, told Fox affiliate KHON-TV.
“We can’t do anything, but they also can’t do anything, so we just have to manage, and that managing means me personally picking up over 30 piles of human feces a month.”
One community gardener described more horror stories from members who had their much-anticipated spoils ripped from their plots.
Debbie Kim said a member went to harvest flowers and put them on her mother’s grave for Mother’s Day – but when she got to the garden they had disappeared.
Another day, she was pulling weeds off her fence when a “homeless person rubbed his body against me, and I screamed,” she said.
“Nobody came to my rescue,” she said.
Members are begging for the government to install a privacy fence Credit: KHON
Debbie Kim said a homeless person rubbed his body against her while she was gardening Credit: KHON
Some members are reportedly chaining themselves in their plots to stop strangers from sneaking up on them Credit: KHON
Kirby said private contractors have given them an estimate of $20,000 to $30,000 if they want to install a fence.
But area councilmember Scott Nishimoto said he was disappointed the garden is ineligible for capital improvement financing and said he’s on the case.
“I spoke with Mayor Blangiardi about how devastating this delay is to our community,” he told the outlet.
“He has assured me that the project is a priority, and he and I are exploring potential remedies.
“I will continue to strongly advocate for the community until the gardeners have a safe space in our neighborhood.”
In a statement, the county parks department said, ““We fully intend to pursue this project in the next Fiscal Year, utilizing Operating Budget allocations.
“That budget is currently being negotiated with the Honolulu City Council.”
The U.S. Sun has reached out to the Honolulu Department of Parks and Recreation for further updates.
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