‘It does sadden me’: Landowner reacts to clean-up controversy in Kalihi Valley

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - An area know for problems drugs, trash and squatters is back in the spotlight after an incident over the weekend that involved land access.

The one-acre property in Kalihi Valley is home to numerous streams and ponds that people like to visit. The incident was caught on camera. In the video, it appears to show a property manager using a bullhorn to tell a group of people that they were trespassing on private property.

The group says they were cleaning up the area.

And they started yelling back in Olelo Hawaii.

Since being posted on social media on Saturday, that video went viral, garnering roughly 250,000 views and more than 800 comments online.

“When my people are told we are not allowed because it is private, it is only adding further insult and injury to the wrongs that were done to my people,” said Kumu Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu.

Many critics wrote that they felt the property manager on the bullhorn was mocking the people down below for speaking Olelo Hawaii.

Landowner Mike Strada said he was not on the property at the time of the incident.

“It does sadden me,” he said.

Strada took ownership of the land in 2015 and has been working for years to clean up the area. He says the reason access is limited is due to safety.

”We had someone die over there before because of slipping on a rock,” Strada said.

”The police even came and asked us, can you do something about this area because we are getting sometimes ten calls a day from neighbors and people complaining,” Strada said.

In response to the safety concerns, Strada said walls were put up to make controlled access points. He also said he instructed the property managers to stop using the bullhorns.

“I understand this is truly their land,” said Strada, who also wanted to thank the people in the video for their work to clean up the area.

The owner says he would like to partner with a Native Hawaiian group to help with stewardship of the land and coordinate access to the area and clean ups.