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https://www.foxnews.com/us/blue-citys-methadone-mile-to-be-dismantled-after-progressive-mayor-makes-order

Blue city's 'Methadone Mile' to be dismantled after progressive mayor
makes order
Starting Nov. 1 tents will be removed and heavy police presence added to
Boston's 'Methadone Mile'
By Brianna Herlihy Fox News
Published October 31, 2023 4:00am EDT | Updated October 31, 2023 8:27am

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A new rule enacted by Boston’s Democrat mayor will go into effect on
Nov. 1, giving police authority to dismantle a homeless tent city in a
neighborhood in Boston that has been used to shield drug use and other
crimes.

The corner of Melnea Cass Boulevard and Massachusetts Avenue in the
south part of Boston known as "Methadone Mile" has for years been
occupied by tents and tarp covers and tragically dwelled by people
struggling with substance addiction.

The area has been riddled with crime, prompting mayor Michelle Wu to
begin the process of dissolving the tent encampment, a process which
will start on Nov. 1.

A report in the Boston Herald said that residents of the tent city have
been notified of the new rule in several languages. Any newcomers to the
camp will be met by a coordinated team of social workers and law
enforcement who will inform them that no new tents will be allowed.

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Mayor Michelle Wu
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu speaks enacted new ordinance to dismantle tent
city in Boston's "Methadone Mile." (Matt Stone/MediaNews Group/Boston
Herald via Getty Images)

"There is no magic wand in a very complex, long-standing challenge that
cities around the country are facing with the opiate crisis,
homelessness, mental health, but we know that in Boston we have a very
good sense of, not only who it is that needs services, but also how to
most effectively connect people with those services," Wu told local
outlet WCVB.

According to the Herald, the problem – which Wu inherited from former
Mayor Marty Walsh before he was called up to serve in the Biden
administration -- persisted despite her efforts to connect the between
the 80–90 people on any given day to social services. That number was
decreased from roughly 200 per day, according to reports.

Wu’s plan to solve the problem is three-pronged, starting with allowing
police to remove tents and tarps is the first step, followed by
connecting them with housing and other services.

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Methadone Mile
The tents of a homeless camp line the sidewalk in area commonly known as
Mass and Cass, Saturday, Oct. 23, 2021, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael
Dwyer, File)

According to the Herald, people at Mass and Cass will be offered a ride
to temporary housing, but will not be allowed to camp there any longer.
The tents and tarps they use for shelter, Wu’s team said when announcing
the ordinance, are also used to hide drug use and other crime.

City Council President Ed Flynn told the Herald he has communicated with
the Mayor over his desire to see a "zero tolerance" approach at Mass and
Cass.

"We have rules in place, and people need to follow the rules," Flynn
told the Herald Friday. "If they break criminal laws, they need to be
arrested and prosecuted."

The third aspect of Wu’s plan is a "heavy" police presence in the area
to crack down on crime.

"We want to make it clear to the people who come to the city with a
different intent, whether it’s to sell drugs or criminality, or to
victimize the people that are in these areas, we’re not going to allow
that," Police Commissioner Michael Cox said.

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"We have rules in place, and people need to follow the rules," Boston
Police Commissioner Flynn told the Boston Herald Friday. "If they break
criminal laws, they need to be arrested and prosecuted." (AP
Photo/Michael Dwyer)

The ordinance will take effect as the state continues to grapple with a
migrant crisis, perpetuated by what one Republican lawmaker says is an
outdated "right-to-shelter law" which entitles migrant families to
emergency shelter on taxpayer dimes.

Earlier this month, the state said there it is on track to hit its
shelter capacity of 7,500 families or about 24,000 people — by the end
of October.

Gov. Maura Healy said there are numerous contributing factors, including
"federal policies on immigration and work authorization" as well as a
lack of affordable housing and the end of COVID-era programs.

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Republican state Rep. Peter Durant told Fox News Digital in an interview
that while he’s glad to see Mayor Wu addressing the serious problems on
Methadone Mile, leaving the immigrant shelter crises to devolve to
result in more tent cities.

"We’re spending just an enormous amount on housing these migrants that
come in, yet we're seeing these tent cities pop up. There's no room at
the end for anybody else," he said.

Durant's amendment would require that anyone who receives benefits from
"right-to-shelter" be a legal resident for a minimum of three years.
Durant says it's likely that some of the homeless individuals leaving
"Methadone Mile" tents would be eligible for shelter under his proposal.

Brianna Herlihy is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.

comments include

hector25
13 hours ago
In order for this to really work, the police must be allowed to moved
these people out, arrest criminals and the DA and courts got to lock up
the criminals. Revolving door policies and the support by woke people
for those in this area will just perpetuate the situation as this will
be just a side s...

ethan71
9 hours ago
Nah, the plan is to move them into housing, paid for and maintained by
tax money taken from the hard working citizens and their employers and
local businesses (because they all make too much).

theblueline
10 hours ago
Just wait for the left wing lawyers to file suit to stop the removal.

jelton
13 hours ago

Nobody forces someone to start taking marijuana or drugs. We've known
the devastating effects for years. There needs to be a plan to remove
them from the streets without the taxpayers bearing the cost. Our
leaders today don't have the ability or will to do that.

johnnyutah647
12 hours ago

In this article - the democrats admit they have been preventing law
enforcement from doing their job (a point they argue often). Since when
does a government official have the power to tell LE which laws they can
and can’t enforce? We have given politicians too much power.

iAimToMisbehave
12 hours ago

But, but, but our leaders wouldn't be able to establish a commission to
review the problem...and kickback money to the leaders.

Then they wouldn't be able to ask for more government funds to work on
the problem (not solve) and kickback money to the leaders.

logicali226
13 hours ago

It must be Election Time. Reinventing the wheel seems like a genius
move to these people, when this process of zero tolerance was always in
place. But the libs thought they had a better way.

wyovoter
12 hours ago

Does anyone want to guess the number of minutes this will last before
the first squeal of police abuse shuts it down for a taxpayer funded
investigation by local (Harvard) social professors.