Bernie and Ramon Agbayani walked around Ala Moana Beach Park yesterday morning greeting friends and admiring a cleaner, spruced-up park that had just reopened after three days of extensive work by city crews.

"It's getting better," Ramon Agbayani said. The two retirees drive from their home in Kalihi six days a week — missing only Sundays — to get exercise and fresh air.

They appreciate the cleaning and painting and approve of the city's recent decision to close the park at night, which prevents the homeless and others from spending the night there.

Mayor Mufi Hannemann went to the park at 6:30 yesterday morning to see what was accomplished this week. He said the park will remain closed from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. daily until June 30 and then the city will decide whether that night-closing policy will be extended.

Bernie Agbayani hopes the city will choose to close the park at night permanently. "It's better without the homeless," she said.

Hannemann said there's been an overwhelmingly positive response to the night closing, which ensures "the park remains open to all residents and not just for a select few."

The change in policy forced an estimated 200 homeless people to find another place to stay. Some have been helped by churches including extensive outreach by Kawai'ahao Church and Central Union Church. Others have taken up Hannemann's offer of staying at the grassy area alongside police headquarters.

Central Union Church yesterday issued a news release that it would hold a prayer service on Monday before closing its temporary shelter for the homeless displaced from Ala Moana Park.

For the past week, Central Union has been trying to get social service agencies to the church to determine whether the people staying there are eligible for services, the release said. "After Monday, it's going to be very challenging to stay in contact with our guests," said the Rev. Dean Vestal, city missionary for Central Union.

Meanwhile, Hannemann said the city is extending the offer for people to stay at the police site while state officials lead the efforts for short-term and long-term solutions to affordable housing for the homeless.

Ala Moana Park was closed to cars and offered only limited access to the public Tuesday through yesterday morning. Swimmers, surfers, walkers and joggers could walk in but were kept clear of some areas while work was being done.

When the park reopened yesterday morning about 6 a.m., sand had been spread evenly across the mile-long beach, picnic tables and bathrooms had been painted, mulch had been placed in circles around most of the trees and the park had been polished in smaller ways.

Hannemann thanked about 100 city workers from the Department of Parks and Recreation, the police and the Department of Facilities Maintenance for "bringing the shine back to our crown jewel" in fixing up the popular urban park.

Parks director Lester Chang estimated 4,000 to 5,000 people visit the park weekdays, and often twice that many on weekends.

Darlene Wong pushes her 19-month-old daughter in a stroller often at the park. She said closing the park at night is a good idea.

"It seems safer to me," she said. "I feel more comfortable walking around here."

Reach Robbie Dingeman at rdingeman@honoluluadvertiser.com.