Stairway to Heaven at severe risk once again.
The Haiku stairs in Hawai’i, also known as the ‘stairway to heaven’, is once again in great risk of being demolished. In a typical underhanded, rushed political process, Honolulu mayor Kirk Caldwell turned on efforts to save the stairs—this after promising to preserve them just a year ago.
For those of you not familiar, the stairs are an awesome, albeit mildly sketchy hike along a mountaintop stairway built by the military during WW2. Years of lobbying and effort have gone into turning this closed off attraction into a legal space. Unfortunately though, the political tide has turned, and the city of Honolulu is now budgeting a million dollars to destroy the stairway.
It’s crazy but not unsurprising to see years of preservation efforts turned upside down by some politicians bent at tilting at windmills. Accessing the stairs requires going to a very quiet neighborhood and trespassing through homeowners yards to access the stairs. These homeowners of course have been pissed about the trespassing for ages, and even more so since the stairs have grown in popularity. Their constant NIMBY complaints have lead to an increased in enforcement, with cops stationed along the stairs. They fined 93 people in a single week of March. With tensions high, an 18 year old recently assault cops who were arresting him on the stairs. All of this drama, over trespassing.
Blowing $1M to remove an amazing tourist attraction is dumb. As Vernon Andsell, president of the advocacy group The Friends of Haiku Stairs, said: “It makes so much more sense to so many more people to solve the problem of illegal trespassing by reopening the stairs under managed access.”
What will ultimate happen? At the moment it’s not looking good. Buying up some property and creating/managing access to the stairs is something that government should do, but in this case seems either incapable and unwilling to even try. Ultimately it makes zero sense to destroy this tourist attraction. Controlled access would be great for the island’s economy, and blowing a million dollars on removal when Honolulu has bigger problems (homelessness to name just one) seems incredibly short sighted. There could be a win here for everyone, but it seems the city council and Mayor are only worried about a tiny number of NIMBY’s. If that’s not ‘America’ I don’t know what is.
I’m at the Subway Stop, I’m at the CSO…
NYC got smacked in the face by some torrential downpours last Thursday that flooded highways and made the subway system into one big water park ride, only a lot more dirty. So, is it ‘infrastructure week’ yet? Are you not pleased that our fearless leaders in Washington DC are stressing the importance of bi-partisan nothingness while our nation crumbles? Maybe the parliamentarian said climate apocalypse is fine?
By entering our new combined sewer and transit systems, all commuters are now DrainOrz. Sorry not sorry those are the rules. Also in NYC, you gotta keep your mask on while riding the subway and DUH. If you’re not already wearing a ski mask and carrying multiple cans of Montana while catching inside tags you’re doing it wrong. Also considering the new nautical subway norm, maybe you need to bring a scuba mask?
‘Bando News and Messy Views
Cops found this dead guy just chilling in a ‘bando restaurant freezer in Iowa. I blame GasAxe. Also, Mic Check, GasAxe where you at?
New Haven (CT) officials are all paranoid about the potential of abandoned buildings crumbling like that residential tower in Florida and… uh… yeah that’s a risk but uh… no one lives in them. Take some chill pills dude. Just don’t take so many that you end up like our new freezer Iowa friend.
Apparently El Chapo had a house with a ‘Hot Tub Tunnel‘. Sounds like a great place to eat some ass. Hey with all the water in the NYC subways can we install Hot Tubs down there too?
The abandoned town of Union Level, W.Va sounds pretty neat if you’re down in that direction. And why wouldn’t you be? Hit the road before we’re all dead!
New Tunnel Smell
A TBM has just finished boring a massive new drain tunnel in Fort Wayne and that’s probably the only reason to even consider visiting that town.
Yo Yo Yo you catch the Merch Drop?
Summer time is the best time to get that loot: Want an LTV Track Gang shirt? Or maybe some Slaps, a Fridge Magnet or perhaps even some Ass Sanitizer? Well… we got you covered. Need to prove to the world that you’ve properly dosed on all the toxic shit we find in abandoned buildings & tunnels? We got your papers. You can even cop an NYC Jail Visitor card to really pump up your street cred. We’ve also still got a few Exploring 5ptz book still in stock. Plus as a subscriber to this here newsletter, you can use coupon code AssVaxx to get 15% off.
‘Bando Building BBQ – Hobo Hell Edition.
The abandoned Banks High School in Birmingham is now being leveled. Good metaphor right there. Nothing beats blowing half a million dollars to put an firm end to education!
LOL Someone set the Crooked Point abandoned rail bridge on fire because why not?
And that’s a wrap…
There’s nothing worse than shitbag explorers. You know the kind: those who talk shit about how others look, what challenges they are facing, attempting to meddle in their relationships, or just plain stirring shit for absolutely no reason at all. Lose me with that bullshit. If you’re not interested in photography, adventure and preserving stuff, why the fuck even label yourself an explorer? Such people are trash. Let’s not coddle their insecurities.
Get this news earlier!
You really want to sign up for the newsletter version of these updates. It comes out Mondays or Tuesdays, while we post this web version online on Thursdays or Fridays.
Enjoyed this post? Give us a little love over on Patreon, and gain access to exclusive content.
LTVSquad.com is the blog of NYC's most notorious team of explorers. We bring you a unique roasted blend of content culled from the fringes and dark underbelly of this fine city. Consider us an Autodidact's guide to urban exploration and adventure.
Privacy PolicyAll content on this website is copywritten, and actively tracked. If you steal it, you will be found and face very expensive settlement costs. To license any content on this website, contact us.
Leave a Reply