The Honolulu Police Department station on Hotel Street was the starting point for Mayor Kirk Caldwell’s walking tour Tuesday. As of Jan. 8, the city has assigned 12 police officers to specifically patrol Chinatown.

Caldwell crosses Hotel Street in Chinatown, where shopkeepers and residents have complained about unruly behavior and vandalism. He is accompanied by Miki Lee, operations manager for Bar 35 and a representative of the Honolulu Culture and Arts Association.

Mayoral spokesman Andrew Periera said the city’s ongoing efforts in Chinatown are “really just about revitalizing the whole area and making it hospitable and friendly.” But Caldwell, who is up for re-election this year, got mixed reviews as he walked.

Caldwell passes a sleeping man as the entourage walks through a park near Hotel and Bethel streets. Police officers have issued about 13,000 warnings since a sit-lie ban was implemented last year in the Chinatown-downtown area, Periera said.

Caldwell defuses what at first was a tense scene by hugging Alfred Burgo, who yelled at the mayor demanding to know what he was doing about homeless veterans such as himself. Caldwell said the city was working with the Department of Veterans Affairs to help homeless vets, and as he moved on officials started asking Burgo about his situation.

The mayor walks into a park at Bethel and Hotel streets where a pond was recently filled in and grass planted. The city has also recently repaired 12 streetlamps. Long-range efforts to revitalize Chinatown are part of a broader push to redevelop all the neighborhoods where rail stations are planned.

Next to the park, Caldwell walks past the landmark Hawaii Theatre. Theatre officials have agreed to take over daily maintenance and security of the park.

Near the end of the hour-long tour, the mayor chats with a police officer. He said he wants officers to encourage homeless people in the area to consider moving into shelters.

The mayor said police officers have been able to “sit down and talk story” with the people they’ve encountered since patrols have been increased. He called Chinatown “the heart of our community” and said it has “the best food in the world” and “incredible art and really cool clothes.”