Mass. and Cass plan met with skepticism
Wu faces questions from City Council
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s push for a city ordinance her administration says would make it easier to remove homeless encampments in a legal and humane way was met with heavy skepticism Thursday from both ends of the City Council’s political spectrum.
During a lengthy City Council hearing at City Hall, Wu administration officials were peppered with questions about the efficacy of Wu’s proposal, which is aimed at giving police increased authority to clear tents and ramshackle street shelters that are often hotbeds of criminality, especially near the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard. The area, known as Mass. and Cass, continues to be the site of sex trafficking and an open-air illicit drug market regularly wracked by violence, according to police.
Both progressives and moderates on the council, some of whom have publicly and personally clashed with each other in recent months, raised concerns about the measure. Some felt the proposal was too harsh, while others thought detox, not housing, should be the top priority for those who call Mass. and Cass home. Multiple councilors wondered aloud whether the ordinance was even necessary.
Councilor Ricardo Arroyo, known as a progressive on the council, questioned the legality of the tent ordinance, which he called “light on the details” and a “return to bad policy.”
He said that taking down the tents would not resolve the complex issues of addiction and mental health problems. Instead, he and other councilors said laws that are already on the books can be used to combat sex trafficking and drug dealing.
“Nobody has produced any evidence that this has worked anywhere,” Arroyo said.
Councilor Kendra Lara, another council progressive and a self-described socialist, said the measure is “drastic in what it’s trying to do.”
“I believe there are other ways,” she
said.
Under Wu’s plan, people’s tents would be removed from streets or sidewalks, but only after individuals had been offered shelter, transportation to shelter, and given the opportunity to have their belongings stored somewhere. For it to become a reality, the 13-member council needs to approve the ordinance by a simple majority, meaning seven “yes” votes. No vote was taken on Thursday.
Currently, authorities are supposed to give 48 hours’ notice before removing tents, except during street cleaning. The city has removed tents in the area in the past, only for them to return, albeit in a more limited way.
Councilor Frank Baker, who has carved out a reputation as the body’s most conservative voice and has clashed with Arroyo and Lara over a litany of matters during the past two years, said he opposed the “housing-first” model deployed by the city. He called for an emphasis on “treatment-first,” adding that there are people on Mass. and Cass who should be “instantly arrested and put in jail.”
“I believe in my heart of hearts that we’re going down the wrong path,” Baker said.
Some councilors questioned whether the ordinance was even necessary to clear the tent encampments that pop up on Atkinson Street in the Mass. and Cass area. Councilor Erin Murphy, another city lawmaker considered to be more conservative, particularly on issues of public safety, said the city has so far fallen short in its Mass. and Cass response.
“We have laws on the books already to stop the criminal behavior so I do not believe that this ordinance is necessary to take down the tents in the encampment,” she said.
Wu administration officials defended the proposal, saying it was necessary to address public health and safety concerns in the area and that city authorities are focused on treating Boston’s most vulnerable with empathy. Officials added that the tents and tarps that are erected around Mass. and Cass shield illegal activity that can foster street violence. Concerns about such violence at Mass. and Cass grew over the summer.
“It’s just not safe, period,” said Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox. “If we can’t see it, we can’t get to it.”
Dr. Bisola Ojikutu, the executive director of the Boston Public Health Commission, told councilors the city was “doubling down on efforts that we know work.” In response to questions from councilors, Ojikutu said there were 352 opioid overdose-related deaths in Boston last year.
The data is “basically telling us we have a huge problem,” she said.
Atkinson Street is the heart of the Mass. and Cass problem. It’s home to a men’s homeless shelter, known as 112 Southampton St., and an engagement center meant to help those who are homeless and addicted. Crowds gather on the road there daily to use and sell drugs. The Wu administration hopes the removal of the tents will lead to Atkinson Street becoming a usable roadway for cars again before the cold of winter sets in.
The Wu administration also has plans to open a new “safe sleeping space” for the homeless at 727 Massachusetts Ave., not far from the Mass. and Cass intersection. The space would open soon after the ordinance passes the council, according to officials.
The new 30-bed space is intended to be a temporary solution while authorities “bring some order” to Atkinson Street, officials have said, but the measure was met with stiff opposition from South End residents, who feared such a move would push the chaos of the open air illicit drug market into their neighborhood.
Opponents also raised concerns about what the city would do should the Mass. and Cass crowds migrate to other neighborhoods in the city. City officials have emphasized that they will ramp up mobile outreach teams of city personnel to prevent “mini-Mass. and Casses” from popping up. Such teams will canvas areas of high need and respond to 311 calls related to such congregations, and help homeless people by making referrals to treatment and health care services, according to city officials.
Tania Del Rio, director of the team appointed by Wu to coordinate the city’s response to the various issues plaguing Mass. and Cass, framed the administration’s proposal as “a moral imperative” and “the right thing to do.” Any moves to end encampments in and around Mass. and Cass would be “rooted in compassion,” she said at Thursday’s hearing.
Not all the councilors were opposed to dismantling the Mass. and Cass encampments. Boston City Council President Ed Flynn, a centrist on the council, was adamant that the “tents must come down.”
“We need to stop the open air drug markets, drug trafficking, human trafficking, exploitation of women and violence,” Flynn said. “There can’t any longer be a climate where anything goes in Boston. We need to get people into treatment and detox.”