Janey defends Mass and Cass ‘comfort’ closure
Acting Mayor Kim Janey is defending her administration’s response to the deteriorating situation at Boston’s Methadone Mile and the closing of the “comfort station” there amid criticism from her rivals.
“We are taking actions to improve both public health and public safety in the neighborhood hardest hit by the opioid crisis,” Janey insisted in a statement.
As the Herald reported on Tuesday, the “comfort station” — a supervised area on troubled Atkinson Street with bathrooms and amenities aimed at cutting down on overdose deaths in the rough area — is closed permanently.
Janey’s office reiterated on Wednesday that this was due to “security concerns.”
“The Engagement Center on Atkinson Street remains open and continues to provide access to shelter, substance use treatment and medical care 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., 7 days a week,” the mayor’s office said. “The Engagement Center and the lifesaving work of City outreach teams helped 55 people get off the street and into treatment last week.”
Janey’s office also said the city is “targeting exploitative and criminal behavior in this area, making more than 30 drug-related arrests last month.”
The dangerous open-air drug market near the corner of Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard has come to be known as Mass and Cass or Methadone Mile.
A couple of Janey’s mayoral rivals came out with comments on Wednesday following the Herald report.
“There’s been a lack of communication between the council and administration,” City Councilor Andrea Campbell told reporters. “I also heard from providers who were really concerned about the permanent closure of the space.”
She said she’d instead look to add more infrastructure.
Former city economic development director John Barros sent out a statement saying that “our politicians have failed us.”
“Instead of addressing the needs, the Acting Mayor and the City Council have overseen a summer of inaction and violence, and the crises at Mass & Cass have multiplied,” Barros said in the statement. “Now, on the first day of Recovery month, they have closed the comfort station that was there to reduce overdose deaths, connect individuals with recovery services, and reduce the strain on surrounding neighborhoods.”
But City Councilor Annissa Essaibi-George, a mayoral candidate like Campbell and Barros, agreed with Janey’s move on the comfort station, saying it was necessary “because we weren’t able to provide the support that individuals need — we weren’t able to provide the public safety that was required. So we had to shut them down.”
But she added on the broader topic of Mass and Cass, “We are not doing nearly enough,” particularly in terms of adding services to other parts of the city away from the troubled area.