Technology
Boston city councilor pushes for emergency hearing on discarded Mass and Cass spillover needle spikes
Boston City Councilor Erin Murphy plans to push for an emergency hearing in light of a recent blog post published by a local researcher who analyzed 311 data and found reports of discarded needles have spiked and spread throughout the city.
Murphy plans to introduce a late-file “emergency order for a hearing regarding the increase and spread of needle-related public health and safety hazards in Boston” at the Wednesday City Council meeting.
“I have repeatedly called for the City of Boston to declare a public health and safety emergency to address the growing crisis at Mass and Cass,” Murphy said in a statement. “The latest data confirms what residents across our neighborhoods already see: this is no longer contained to one area.”
Murphy’s emergency order is responsive to a Substack post published last week by local writer and researcher James Piccirilli, who found that, as of September, 311 needle reports in Boston are up 20% from last year and more than 75% since 2022.
Piccirilli found that while Mass and Cass remains “the center of the crisis,” needles are being discarded throughout the city.
He wrote that 311 needle reports have more than doubled in surrounding areas, with parts of the South End immediately surrounding the troubled intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard seeing spikes of 200% to 300% over the last two years.
“From the South End to deep into Roxbury and Dorchester, the shadow of Mass and Cass is looming over the city,” Piccirilli wrote. “Despite years of concerted effort, the problem is growing and spreading further than before.”
Mayor Michelle Wu implemented a plan to clean up the Mass and Cass intersection in November 2023, beginning with the clearing of a long-standing homeless encampment.
But city officials have acknowledged of late that the open drug use, dealing and related crime has since spilled over into surrounding neighborhoods, particularly the South End, which has been deemed a hot-spot area by the city and targeted for greater police enforcement.
South End residents spoke at a community meeting last week of the health and safety risks that now come with taking their young children to parks and walking their dogs, due to discarded needles.
City Councilor Ed Flynn, who represents part of the South End and saw his emergency declaration push for Mass and Cass blocked by a colleague aligned with the mayor, said the 311 data is reflective of what he sees as the larger issue: that the city is ignoring the problem.
“We have to acknowledge the significant escalation of open drug use, drug dealing, violence, criminal activity and discarded needles that we’re seeing, not just in the South End and Roxbury, but also throughout the city as well,” Flynn told the Herald. “It’s a significant public safety issue and it’s being ignored.”
He said the city needs to take a “zero-tolerance” approach.
“I don’t feel we have that commitment currently,” Flynn said. “We need to hold everybody accountable that’s engaged in criminal activity and make arrests.”
Arrests were up 163% in the South End this summer, from May 1 to Aug. 24, compared to that time period last year, per Boston Police data.
Boston Public Health Commissioner Bisola Ojikutu said last month that the city hands out more than 80,000 needles per month to drug users, as part of its harm reduction approach.
Boston City Councilor Erin Murphy plans to push for an emergency hearing in light of a recent blog post published by a local researcher who analyzed 311 data and found reports of discarded needles have spiked and spread throughout the city.
Murphy plans to introduce a late-file “emergency order for a hearing regarding the increase and spread of needle-related public health and safety hazards in Boston” at the Wednesday City Council meeting.
“I have repeatedly called for the City of Boston to declare a public health and safety emergency to address the growing crisis at Mass and Cass,” Murphy said in a statement. “The latest data confirms what residents across our neighborhoods already see: this is no longer contained to one area.”
Murphy’s emergency order is responsive to a Substack post published last week by local writer and researcher James Piccirilli, who found that, as of September, 311 needle reports in Boston are up 20% from last year and more than 75% since 2022.
Piccirilli found that while Mass and Cass remains “the center of the crisis,” needles are being discarded throughout the city.
He wrote that 311 needle reports have more than doubled in surrounding areas, with parts of the South End immediately surrounding the troubled intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard seeing spikes of 200% to 300% over the last two years.
“From the South End to deep into Roxbury and Dorchester, the shadow of Mass and Cass is looming over the city,” Piccirilli wrote. “Despite years of concerted effort, the problem is growing and spreading further than before.”
Mayor Michelle Wu implemented a plan to clean up the Mass and Cass intersection in November 2023, beginning with the clearing of a long-standing homeless encampment.
But city officials have acknowledged of late that the open drug use, dealing and related crime has since spilled over into surrounding neighborhoods, particularly the South End, which has been deemed a hot-spot area by the city and targeted for greater police enforcement.
South End residents spoke at a community meeting last week of the health and safety risks that now come with taking their young children to parks and walking their dogs, due to discarded needles.
City Councilor Ed Flynn, who represents part of the South End and saw his emergency declaration push for Mass and Cass blocked by a colleague aligned with the mayor, said the 311 data is reflective of what he sees as the larger issue: that the city is ignoring the problem.
“We have to acknowledge the significant escalation of open drug use, drug dealing, violence, criminal activity and discarded needles that we’re seeing, not just in the South End and Roxbury, but also throughout the city as well,” Flynn told the Herald. “It’s a significant public safety issue and it’s being ignored.”
He said the city needs to take a “zero-tolerance” approach.
“I don’t feel we have that commitment currently,” Flynn said. “We need to hold everybody accountable that’s engaged in criminal activity and make arrests.”
Arrests were up 163% in the South End this summer, from May 1 to Aug. 24, compared to that time period last year, per Boston Police data.
Boston Public Health Commissioner Bisola Ojikutu said last month that the city hands out more than 80,000 needles per month to drug users, as part of its harm reduction approach.
