Boston City Council President Ed Flynn spent Monday morning on Atkinson Street near Melnea Cass Boulevard and Massachusetts Avenue, or Mass. and Cass, meeting with police, outreach teams, medical workers and city employees on site at the homeless encampment. Flynn, who is in the middle of a 10-day stint as acting mayor since Mayor Michelle Wu left for a family vacation, describes Mass. and Cass as a “rapidly deteriorating” site, marked by a longtime concentration of homelessness, mental health issues and drug use.
Getting people into drug treatment and increasing safety in the area is Flynn's "main focus" since stepping into the role last Thursday. His biggest priority is addressing public safety issues at Mass. and Cass, Flynn says, “which would include taking down tents.”
Flynn signed on to an open letter last week urging city officials to conduct a police sweep of the area, “specifically targeting individuals with a history of violence, drug and human trafficking,” as written in the request from Flynn and U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch, state Sen. Nick Collins, state Rep. David Biele and Boston City Councilors Frank Baker, Erin Murphy and Michael Flaherty.
“I think a warrant sweep is necessary, but I also think it needs to be effectively coordinated and planned accordingly with the Boston police and the state police,” Flynn told GBH News. He said that conducting a sweep before Wu returns is “not something I’m considering.”
“I would rather get it done right than to rush it,” Flynn added.
While on vacation, Wu is only physically unavailable, and “still making all major decisions that need to be made,” according to Wu’s press secretary Ricardo Patrón. Wu’s office currently has no confirmed plans to conduct a sweep prior to her return, Patrón said, though “she’s available by phone and Zoom and is checking in with the team multiple times per day.”
As of August 1, the number of people congregating in the area reached more than 150 per day — just about the same amount seen at the same time last summer, according to the city’s data dashboard. Last fall, the Wu administration began to conduct daily sweeps of Atkinson Street.
In July, Boston police officers responded to a high number of incidents — 186 incidents during the week of July 16 — the highest number since January, but still below peaks last summer and fall. The number of BPD incidents fell down to normal levels in the following weeks, below the average of 155 incidents per week.
In late July, three people were stabbed near Mass. and Cass, and some outreach workers from nonprofits working with the city on the ground at Mass. and Cass were pulled from the area.
“All of the non-city teams have said in the last few weeks the situation has gotten so dangerous that we are pulling our people out — we cannot be in there," Wu told host Jimmy Hills on his program “Java with Jimmy” earlier this week.
Wu described increased violence, drug and human trafficking and “weapons, potentially” that presents “a new level of public safety alarm.” The city is “planning to take a major step” to address safety concerns through “a different approach,” Wu said.
Wu’s administration did not provide additional details around what a “major step” would entail.
Mayoral administrations have conducted multiple large-scale sweeps to clear encampments in the area since 2019.
When asked about the effectiveness of previous warrant sweeps in the area, Flynn said he is collaborating with Wu and other city leaders to prioritize the needs of residents and business owners in the area while emphasizing “the number one priority” of “getting people into drug treatment programs and getting them the medical care that they need and deserve.”
