For weeks, conditions have gone from deplorable to worse for residents of 1136 Union Mall, a derelict, downtown office building that’s been converted into makeshift residences without air conditioning or proper kitchens and bathrooms. Of late, they lack electricity and working elevators, too.

On the legal front, the tenants are making initial progress. With no money to hire attorneys, a ragtag group of residents along with an entrepreneur leasing two floors of the building are nonetheless making some headway in court.

Inside the building, however, the laws don’t seem to make a difference.

Things came to a head late last week, as a half-dozen police officers stood outside the building with their cars lined up on Bishop Street, blue lights flashing. Inside, four unidentified men — three dressed in black paramilitary clothing, the fourth in an aloha shirt — were walking through the building.

Rumors had swirled among residents for days that the landlord many are fighting in court was sending men to “sweep the building” and remove them, without legal eviction orders. Heightening their fears, at least one of the men who showed up Thursday carried a pistol.

By multiple accounts, the men walked the building’s darkened halls floor by floor but didn’t forcibly remove anyone. Still, several residents said tensions rose when the men reached the ninth-floor penthouse.

Residents had barricaded the door to the building’s emergency stairwell, which serves as the main access to the building’s floors. Now, ninth-floor residents were holed up in units previously marketed as DOHO Suites as the men in black pounded on the fire door, demanding to be let in.

Among those inside was Keith Schuler. He said he was working under the direction of Honolulu entrepreneur Rex Matsuo, who leases part of the ninth floor for DOHO Suites. Schuler said he and others delayed opening the door because he felt the need to protect the residents, who include a pregnant woman and another in a wheelchair.

“Let’s play boys,” Schuler recalled thinking. “My dad’s a cop. I know the law.”

“We’re all just fighting for survivaI … I’m afraid for my life.”

Kamaka Pahinui, 1136 Union Mall resident and former property administrator

Tensions cooled after residents opened the door. The pistol turned out to be a Byrna gun, which shoots projectiles meant to incapacitate, not kill. One resident showed the men a Honolulu District Court judge’s order that includes a criminal contempt charge against the building’s owner. The four men eventually left by the emergency stairs, where a Civil Beat reporter encountered them.

Exactly why the men were there and who sent them isn’t clear. One of them was social media influencer and self-described “Ambassador of Aloha” Elijah Kalā McShane, who declined to comment when contacted later by Civil Beat. State records show McShane was previously licensed as a security guard, but his license expired in 2016 and he is not allowed to practice in that role.

The Honolulu Police Department also couldn’t say exactly what had happened. Officers had responded to a report of a disturbance at the building from the property manager, who was off-site at the time, according to Jocelyn Oshiro, an HPD spokesperson.

Officers saw something happening on the ninth floor but couldn’t make contact with any residents and didn’t go inside, Oshiro said. They left while the men in black were still inside and never talked to residents.

Police Respond To Calls Almost Every Day

Police calls are common at 1136 Union Mall.

In the past six months, Honolulu Police Department officers have made 154 visits to the building, an HPD spokesperson said. That’s nearly one call per day to the property, whose tenants previously included the Hawaiʻi judiciary’s Office of Disciplinary Counsel, located in Honolulu’s central business district.

Of the 154 police visits, 24 were classified as criminal cases or warrant arrests. Another 42 were to preserve the peace and prevent violations of the law and 88 for things such as assisting a citizen, welfare checks and noise complaints. HPD noted that the tally also included incidents in front of the building.

Kamaka Pahinui, a resident and former administrator for the building’s owner, Union Mall Development Group LLC, called incidents like the one on Thursday a normal occurrence at the property.

“We’re in a situation where we’re all just fighting for survival,” Pahinui said. “It’s overwhelming. I’m afraid for my life.”

The building’s co-owner, Chad Waters, who purportedly stepped down as building manager earlier this month, declined to comment. Co-owner Scott Bingo also declined to comment beyond saying he didn’t know that Waters had stepped down as the building’s manager.

“Basically, it’s Chad’s operation with a handful of investors,” Bingo said.

Judges Side With Tenants

Hawaiʻi state court judges are starting to grant relief to tenants. Tenant Enshaquawa Moore previously had been ordered to deposit $837.69 per month into a rental trust fund while she and Waters’ company, Union Mall Development Group LLC, pursued a settlement of the eviction proceeding filed against her.

In late October, District Judge Shellie Park-Hoapili stayed Kawatachi’s trust fund order indefinitely, meaning she no longer has to pay rent into the fund while she prepares for a trial scheduled for January.

Hoapili’s move “made me feel great,” said Moore, who has described the building as a “hell hole.” “I was pretty much losing hope.”

Park-Hoapili also stayed an order requiring another tenant, Michael James, to pay $1,300 a month into a trust while the court dealt with his eviction case. In addition, she denied Waters’ request, filed in early October, for an order to kick James out of his unit for not paying rent.

Other judges are also siding with the tenants, at least for now.

When Waters didn’t show for a settlement conference in James’ case earlier this month, for instance, District Judge Erika Ireland asked Waters’ lawyer, Branden Nakahara, for an explanation. The lawyer said Waters had quit as managing partner of Union Mall Development Group.

Ireland told the lawyer that Waters, Bingo or another company representative needed to show up in court for a pre-trial conference scheduled for Monday.

During Monday’s hearing Nakahara said he still hadn’t been able to get in touch with anyone from Union Mall Development Group, and Park-Hoapili dismissed the case. Although a victory for James, he said he was worried that the men in black would return and try to remove tetants without legal authority to do so.

“With those guys that came last time,” he said, “who knows what will happen?”

The biggest win for 1136 Union Mall tenants involves Rex Matsuo, owner of DOHO Suites, which leases the building’s fourth floor and part of its ninth.

When Union Mall Development Group failed to comply with a temporary court order to restore electricity to DOHO Suites, District Judge Thomas Haia came down hard. 

In mid-October, Haia again ordered Waters’ and Bingo’s company to restore the power, found the company in contempt of court for not following the temporary order and ruled that a further violation would be deemed criminal contempt, punishable by a fine of up to $5,000 and up to six months in prison. As of Sunday, however, electricity still had not been restored.

Masuo and his lawyer, Areg Sarkissian, did not respond to requests for comment, nor did the company’s lawyer.

Living Situation At Union Mall Deteriorates

Despite the wins in court, tenants remain desperate, their plight underscoring Honolulu’s housing crisis and a statewide cost of living that is the nation’s highest. Many live in DOHO Suites’ ninth-floor units. Other tenants are scattered among other floors in windowless former office suites branching off of dark hallways.

Waters has provided rechargeable batteries to some tenants, said Matt Mendoza, who was originally hired as an unlicensed building security guard, a title he said was later changed to “hall monitor.”

The batteries are helpful for those who have them, Mendoza said. But they’re heavy, weighing more than 100 pounds, and must be hauled to the ground floor to recharge. On a recent afternoon, Medoza and fellow tenant Stephen Thornell struggled to carry a battery down the building’s emergency stairs. The men stopped at each floor’s landing to straighten their backs and regroup.

“I’ve lost 40 pounds in eight days,” Thornell said.

Even the batteries meant to provide some help to tenants have produced an unintended problem, Mendoza said. Because only some tenants were given batteries, Mendoza said, the items have become cherished commodities, subject to theft from those who don’t have them.

It’s just one more thing contributing to the building’s lawless environment.

“The tweakers, squatters, druggies — whatever you want to call them — they come in here all day, kicking, squatting, robbing,” Mendoza said.

UPDATE: This story has been updated with information from Monday’s court hearing.

Civil Beat’s reporting on economic inequality is supported by the Hawaiʻi Community Foundation as part of its work to build equity for all through the CHANGE Framework; and by the Cooke Foundation.