Early on March 28, 35-year-old Joseph Peneueta was gunned down in Chinatown, near the corner of River and Pauahi streets. The brazenness of the crime—in which two men got out of a car, unloaded with assault rifles, then returned to their vehicle—coupled with what police say was a related stabbing two days later on the same block brought already-simmering concerns about crime in the neighborhood to a boil. Residents, business owners and community groups launched into action, pressing Honolulu police and Mayor Mufi Hannemann into action.

The result might best be described as a full-court press against lawlessness in east Chinatown. While the suspects in the two high-profile cases were quickly rounded up, police were not content to stop there, adding many more patrol officers—as many as 20 more per day, according to a District One police official—and increasing the department’s visibility across the neighborhood.

By the first weekend in April, officers could be seen on nearly every corner of Pauahi Street—from Fort Street to the river, from morning until night. Cars even attempting to idle on the Diamond Head end of Pauahi were quickly shooed away, if not cited, as police worked to crack down on the rough crowd that had previously gathered in and around Mall Café.

Some six weeks later, the neighborhood’s profile has clearly changed, and while many in the area say they are pleased with the police response, it’s clear that the presence of so many more officers comes at a price. “I think it’s extraordinarily safe right now,” said Ed Korybski, executive director of the Honolulu Culture and Arts District Association. “Not even just safe—our Clean Team says they’ve never seen the area so clean. But it’s a matter of balance. Too few police around and you can’t deal with crime, too many and it can feel like a lockdown.”

Marsha Joyner, a community activist, says the stepped-up presence is a “mixed blessing.” She says she’s hearing from business owners that the neighborhood is beginning to look a little too-well policed. “There’s got to be a happy medium between too much and too little, and by ‘too much’ I mean that it looks like an armed camp. If there are four officers standing outside your storefront, no one’s going to come in.”

Joyner also gives voice to what many who live and work in the neighborhood find the most frustrating new piece of local flavor: the citation. “They’re giving out too many tickets for things like jaywalking and parking violations.” Anecdotal evidence certainly suggests that police are ticketing both pedestrians and drivers at a much higher rate, and police officials aren’t contesting the point. “Obviously,” says Maj. Clayton Saito, HPD’s District One commander, “it’s going to be much more than it was prior” to the ramp-up.

Saito is mindful of the community’s frustration with the increase in ticketing, but says police have an obligation to cite all the violations they encounter, not just the ones residents may wish to see enforced. “We are not going to be selective in who we cite,” Saito said. “We are going to cite fairly…if there is a downside, that’s one of the downsides of having an increased presence. What’s not been seen before is now being seen.”

Korybski says the time has come to rethink the size of the presence. “It’s time to get back to that balance,” he says. “They’ve pushed out a lot of negative elements and hopefully they won’t come back.” Joyner adds that the mayor and Chief of Police Boise Correa have agreed to meet with community leaders to discuss “what kind of balance there could be.”

Saito said the police presence is constantly being assessed. “We are in contact with the community regularly about what they think is going on. There’s a lot of competing opinions. You get some merchants who like the increased presence and you get some merchants who would probably not like us to be down there in such great numbers. Most of the people appreciate the additional policemen.”

Meanwhile, there are signs that eastern Chinatown is evolving in ways that bode well for the longer-term health of the neighborhood. The former Mall Café location, the source of many complaints over the years, is in the process of moving in a new tenant.

“I’m very optimistic about how the area is turning,” said Korybski. “It’s more organized. It just seems like more people are willing to step up and be counted.”

Adrienne LaFrance contributed to this report.