Boston officials are getting pushback over a plan to move about 30 people living in the area known as “Mass. and Cass” to a Quality Inn in Revere.
A proposal to move homeless people from a troubled area in Boston to a hotel in nearby Revere, Massachusetts, has people and leaders in that community pushing back.
Anthony Springer's new home is right next door to the Quality Inn.
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"We saved up every single dollar we could possibly have to get out of the city and try to move into a nice place in the suburbs to raise our family," said Springer. "And now it seems like the city is following us out here."
Boston's plan would move dozens of homeless people from the area known as "Mass. and Cass" to the hotel.
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"We would have definitely reconsidered if we knew something like that was in the mix," Springer said.
The problems at Mass. and Cass, also known as "Methadone Mile," include open use of illegal drugs, as well as mental health issues.
More on Mass. and Cass
"Putting people in a hotel isn't going to be the solution that's going to help the people that are struggling," said Revere Mayor Brian Arrigo.
The mayor is blasting Boston over the proposal to house people at the Quality Inn, saying he has received almost no details about the plan.
He fired off a letter to the city saying he has lost all confidence in the Boston Public Health Commission.
"It's not one community's burden to bear, but it's certainly not the city of Revere's," said Arrigo.
In a statement, Boston Mayor Kim Janey said Revere needs to "step up" and that "municipal leaders who say that we need to do this work as a region but who fail to take responsibility in their own city or town may be making a good sound bite, but it does not solve the problem."
Janey says the plan is to house about 30 homeless people at the hotel if the proposal moves forward.
Arrigo said in a later statement Wednesday night that "Revere stands willing and ready to support individuals experiencing homelessness and drug addiction," rejecting Janey's representation of the process.
"I am not sure which planning conversations Acting Mayor Janey referred to in her statement because simply put, they did not happen. The first time we spoke was today, and in that conversation, she was unable to identify a single additional regional partner they are working with to help address this problem," Arrigo said.
"Revere stands ready and able to support a regional plan that brings multiple mayors, the Governor, the AG, the DA, and a range of health care providers to the table to support the highest needs population in the state," Arrigo's statement continued. "What we will not accept is our much larger and more well-resourced neighbor deciding to shift their political and PR issue to another city and hoping it goes away."
