HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Merchants at the Chinatown Cultural Plaza are preparing for Chinese New Year festivities beginning Friday night, but the neglected Honolulu landmark continues to deteriorate.
Ceiling tiles in a first-floor men’s restroom burst open from this past weekend’s heavy rains, leaving a giant hole and dangling fixtures. The damage is located below the old Empress Restaurant, which has been empty for years.
“I was kind of shocked because this whole thing is falling down right,” said Jimmy Wu, an architect and tenant.
Mayor calls for immediate action
Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi called the plaza a hotspot for crime and expressed frustration with years of inaction by the plaza’s owners, the Taiwanese government and other government officials…