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Jun 28, 2023

Mass. and Cass: Wu files ordinance to dismantle homeless encampments

Mayor Michelle Wu’s administration filed an ordinance to the City Council Monday intended to make it easier for police to clear homeless encampments in the city, an expected step aimed at bringing

Mayor Michelle Wu’s administration filed an ordinance to the City Council Monday intended to make it easier for police to clear homeless encampments in the city, an expected step aimed at bringing order to Mass. and Cass, the chaotic epicenter of Boston’s opioid epidemic.

“The ordinance will establish a prohibition against unsanctioned use of tents, tarps, and similar temporary structures on public property and in the public way which have been shielding much of the dangerous activity in the area and undermining the ability of providers to safely and effectively deliver services,” wrote Wu in a letter to the council.

Wu framed the proposed city law as one part of a three-pronged approach that would also see the city expand overnight low-threshold capacity and make Atkinson Street, where crowds gather daily to sell and use drugs, accessible to cars once again while also preventing encampments from popping up elsewhere in the city.

The ordinance would require violators of the new rule to be offered shelter space prior to their encampment being dismantled. Authorities would also have to provide storage for a violator’s belongings under the proposal. Offenders would be subject to a $25 fine.

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The next Boston City Council meeting is scheduled for Wednesday.

Wu announced her intention to file the initiative last week. The move comes amid recent concerns over violence near the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard. Over the weekend, a Boston city councilor was mugged while trying to observe the conditions at a tent encampment in the area. And the mayor has said the new plan would likely cause serious disruption to the very dynamic of Mass. and Cass.

Atkinson Street is the heart of the Mass. and Cass problem. Home to a men’s homeless shelter, known as 112 Southampton St., and an engagement center meant to help homeless people and those with drug addictions. Tents and other ramshackle shelters often pop up on the thoroughfare, offering homeless people a reprieve from the weather, while also shielding the opioid and sex trades. Currently, with the exception of street cleaning, authorities are supposed to give 48 hours notice before removing tents.

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Wu’s new proposal is aimed at empowering police to be able to remove the encampments more quickly. The administration’s hope is for police to be able to utilize the ordinance before the colder months of winter set in.

Wu’s new strategy to Mass. and Cass has already been met with pushback. Last week, some South End residents expressed heavy skepticism that the city would be able to prevent the day-to-day Atkinson Street chaos from spreading to other nearby areas. Specifically, the opening of a 30-bed “safe sleeping space” on Massachusetts Avenue to accommodate additional people who are experiencing homelessness was met with stiff opposition.

City officials have stressed that the safe sleeping space would be temporary, drug use inside the space would not be tolerated, and once the people using the 30 beds leave for other shelter or housing, the beds would not be repopulated with other people.

Danny McDonald can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @Danny__McDonald.