Boston city councilors push for Mass and Cass emergency

Four Boston city councilors are urging public health officials to declare a state of emergency at the Mass. and Cass area of the city that has become synonymous with the substance abuse crisis plaguing the region.

Councilors Erin Murphy, Frank Baker, Ed Flynn and Michael Flaherty signed the letter, asking that the Boston Public Health Commission take a vote to declare a state of emergency at their Sept. 13 meeting. The councilors believe that would provide more flexibility to the ongoing situation in that area.

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"We have reached a stage where dramatic intervention is vital," the letter said. "We need real solutions that address underlying problems and causes. We believe that the risk exists of compounding the “Mass and Cass” problem by attempting politically expedient solutions that do not address the underlying problems."

An ordinance that would give police new power to take down tents at Mass. and Cass is headed to a public hearing.

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"Additionally, a recent proposal to relocate clinical services and add a shelter at the corner of Massachusetts Avenue and Albany Street would continue adding to the undue burden already shouldered by the South End and Roxbury neighborhoods," the letter continued.

On Wednesday, Boston City Council quietly moved one of the most-talked-about issues in the city into its legislative process with little discussion in the chamber, rejecting an attempt to immediately adopt the mayor's strategy for addressing encampments in an area that's at the center of the state's opioid epidemic.

Mayor Wu is introducing an ordinance to remove tents and tarps from Mass. and Cass gradually.

The council sent an ordinance from Mayor Michelle Wu related to the homeless encampment at Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard to its Committee on Government Operations -- after Wu's announcement last week of a new approach to address the tent city and "open air drug market" on the border of Roxbury and the South End grabbed headlines and sparked strong reactions across Boston.

Wu on Monday filed the ordinance, which would give police the power to immediately remove tents and tarps on public property and roads. Under current protocol, Boston officials have to give 48-hours notice.

The mayor's "phase change" comes at a time when Mass. and Cass has become increasingly violent, and social services have had to pull out of the area for safety.

The State House News Service contributed to this report.