BOSTON – Some Fort Point residents are outraged about the plan to open an emergency overflow shelter in one of the most expensive Boston neighborhoods.
On Tuesday night, they voiced their anger and frustration at a community meeting, but they didn’t get a lot of answers.
“How is it a done deal when you cannot answer these questions,” a resident said at the meeting.
Fuming neighbors grilled state officials about the 80 migrants who will call 24 Farnsworth Street a temporary home. The office space owned by the Unitarian Universalist Association will be turned into the latest overflow shelter. In January, the Cass Recreational Complex in Roxbury was flipped from a community center to a shelter.
Safety and security, location and facilities topping the concerns in Fort Point.
“How are you going to ensure we’re safe?” one woman asked.
“I would like to see a little more compassion, that’s my point of view,” another man added.
Neighbors like Brian Curley say the community didn’t have a voice before the decision was made. “I think there’s a lot of angered residents who feel the same way I do that this was being forced on us,” Curley said.
General Scott Rice, who’s overseeing the state’s strained shelter system, vowed security for families living in the shelter and neighbors in the community.
“Our track record has been very good,” Rice said. “We’ve had very, very, very few incidents.”
United Way is the non-profit that will run the shelter. Neighbors voiced their concerns about no showers on site and a plan to bus migrants to local YMCAs for services. Though United Way leaders say there will be at least six bathrooms in the space.
“We certainly would not put anybody in a space that has anything unsafe for them,” said Christi Staples of the United Way.
State officials say there will be another meeting on Friday where they hope to have more answers about the emergency shelter.
“There was a lot of questions tonight, there were not a lot of answers,” Curley said.
BOSTON (WHDH) – A pedestrian was hit and killed in Roxbury Thursday morning.
The collision occurred just before 8:20 a.m. on Tremont Street.
Police said Tremont Street was closed in both directions between Brigham Circle and Roxbury Crossing.
This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details.
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A 96-year-old Boston woman received the surprise of a lifetime when she discovered the French men’s national soccer team had become her neighbors at the Four Seasons Hotel in the Back Bay.
Shirley, a beloved resident of the neighborhood, said she had no idea she would end up meeting the players in town for the World Cup.
“They’re my buddies,” she said with a laugh.
Her caretaker, Samia, said Shirley has become well known around Back Bay.
“Anyone outside, when we are walking, people come to her and want to talk to her,” Samia said.
The U.S. is out of the World Cup. Fellow co-hosts Mexico and Canada are too. So who should
The excitement around the hotel grew after the French team arrived to stay there during the tournament.
Shirley said the encounter happened unexpectedly while she was eating lunch.
“I was having lunch and they came over, and since then, it’s been wonderful to have them here,” she said.
Shirley said team representatives soon invited her to meet the players.
“And they said, ‘He would like to meet you.’ I said, ‘I’m glad to meet anybody,’” she recalled.
For this Massachusetts teenager, attending a World Cup match was more than a dream come true, it was a milestone in a journey that began when he was diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma — something that might not have happened if he hadn’t been playing soccer.
After the visit, Shirley recorded a cellphone video sharing her excitement.
“This is absolutely — I cannot tell you how unbelievably fabulous this is,” she said.
The meeting ended with a memorable gift: A jersey from French star Kylian Mbappé.
The team also made her a promise.
“[They] told me that if they win, he will sign it, and then it will be worth a lot of money,” she said, laughing.
Samia, who is from Algeria, quickly agreed. She said she was already a devoted supporter of the French squad after spending many years living in France.
“I’m so excited. I went to Philadelphia to watch the game this past weekend. So, believe me, I’m totally 100% with them. I wanted them to go back to France with a cup,” she said.
Shirley said she never expected to become a fan, but she appreciated the sense of community the tournament brought to her neighborhood.
“It’s good to see such camaraderie happening, with people here getting along. Yeah, it’s the greatest thing,” she said.
She said she still did not know why the team wanted to meet her, but she’s grateful nonetheless. Shirley remains hopeful her new friends would keep winning, and keep returning to Boston.
Local News
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu announced Wednesday that the city is suing social media companies — including Meta, TikTok, Snapchat and YouTube — over their alleged deliberate targeting of minors with addictive features.
The lawsuit, filed on behalf of Boston Public Schools in federal court in California, will be consolidated with more than 1,500 similar complaints from school districts around the country, Wu’s office said.
The lawsuit seeks to force the companies to remove addictive features and compensate the city for the mental health support needed by students. It alleges the companies designed addictive features specifically to keep young people engaged. These features include endless scrolling, frequent notifications, and personalized algorithms, city officials said.
In a statement, Wu said that these companies have evidence of the harm they are causing to children.
“Boston is taking legal action to protect children and youth and hold these companies accountable. Today, we are making it clear that social media companies must end exploitative practices and be accountable to standards of basic protection for children,” she said.
The move comes as more Massachusetts politicians look to rein in social media companies. The state’s House of Representatives passed a bill in April that would implement a phone ban in schools and prohibit children 14 and younger from using social media. Gov. Maura Healey followed that up by introducing legislation that would require social media companies to verify users’ ages and limit the ways in which minors are exposed to potentially addictive design features.
Just last week, the state Senate unveiled legislation that would require social media companies to automatically disable these types of features for minors.
BPS officials say that they have seen a “significant increase” in social media-fueled mental health needs over the past decade. They cited data from the Boston Public Health Commission that shows the impact on high school students. In 2015, just 26.7% of Boston public high school students reported “persistent sadness.” By 2021, that figure had risen to 43.9%.
The district says it has responded by “exponentially” expanding mental health resources. In 2007, there were six social workers and 48 school psychologists employed in the BPS system. The district now has 240 social workers and 105 school psychologists, officials said.
“We work hard to set our students on the best course for success through rigorous academics and whole-student supports, and the research is clear that social media has had a negative impact on students’ well-being while benefiting companies. We all need to do what is right for our students,” Superintendent Mary Skipper said in a statement.
In March, a jury in California found that Meta and YouTube are liable for intentionally designing addictive features and that executives failed to protect young users.
In May, Meta and other social media companies settled a lawsuit brought by a Kentucky school district in a bellwether case.
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