Boston, MA
The tents are gone, but the crowds and drug use are back at Boston’s Mass and Cass
The warmer weather has drawn the crowds back to the city’s open-air drug market at Mass and Cass, which one city councilor says is alarming the community despite the mayor’s insistence that the area is much safer since last year’s tent crackdown.
City Councilor Ed Flynn said roughly 70–80 people have been gathering and openly using and selling drugs at Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard on a daily basis for at least the past month.
Flynn said he visited the area on Thursday and observed an “organized system of drug dealers on Melnea Cass” in Roxbury. He described the situation as a danger to people in the area, saying that he went on to speak with residents in South Boston, which is part of his district, who are “very concerned about the significant escalation of drug dealing and drug use in the neighborhoods.”
“I talked to several Boston police officials today and expressed my concern about the area and requested enhanced police presence in the impacted neighborhoods and to arrest drug dealers,” Flynn told the Herald Thursday. “It’s a significant issue impacting the quality of life of residents.”
The criminal activity has also spilled over into other areas, Flynn said, with more people gathering throughout neighborhoods in Roxbury and the South End, Andrew Square in South Boston, and at the South Bay mall in Dorchester.
The South Bay mall drew attention last summer for juvenile mobs committing violent crime, leading then-Councilor Frank Baker to partly blame the example set for youth by the Mass and Cass inhabitants who go through the stores there to “rob the place blind and shoot up drugs in the sidewalks,” when the matter came before the City Council for discussion last September.
Flynn said that not only are businesses at the South Bay mall concerned about the crowds returning at and around Mass and Cass, but those located in the Newmarket business district are as well.
He said people are drawn to the Mass and Cass area because public drug use and dealing has long been “tolerated” there by the city, but emphasized that should not be the case, and is calling for city officials to “revisit and redouble our efforts” that began with last fall’s crackdown on tent encampments and crime.
“I don’t believe we should allow people to use drugs openly on the streets of Boston,” Flynn said. “I believe it’s a public health crisis.”
Mayor Michelle Wu implemented a three-pronged plan to address crime and homelessness in the area last fall, following City Council approval of an anti-encampment ordinance that empowered police to remove the tents that officials said were shielding crime, sex trafficking and weapons.
On a Wednesday appearance on a “Java with Jimmy” podcast, Wu was asked about the uptick in gathering that’s been occurring at Mass and Cass, and how the city planned to address it.
The mayor spoke to the importance of the ordinance, saying that not having the tents there permanently has put the city in a “different and better, safer position than we were a year ago this time.” Last summer, more than 200 people a day were flocking to the area.
The Herald requested an interview with the mayor on Thursday afternoon, but her office declined to make Wu available nor provide a statement, saying in a Friday evening email that it deferred to her comments on “Java with Jimmy.”
Wu’s office did provide statistics shedding more light on her remarks around enhanced safety in the Mass and Cass zone.
The year-over-year data compared Jan. 1 to April 8 of 2023 to the same time period in 2024, showing that robberies were down 40%, aggravated assault was down 14%, residential burglary was down 78%, motor vehicle theft was down 38%, total crime was down 22%, and violent crimes overall were “significantly down.”
What remains to be seen, however, is data capturing the warmer months that have already resulted in larger crowds in the area.
On her podcast appearance, Wu spoke to the city’s efforts to connect longtime inhabitants of Mass and Cass with shelter, housing, drug treatment and services.
She also mentioned the city’s long-term goal of rebuilding a bridge out to a future addiction-recovery campus on Long Island, which has faced staunch opposition from the mayor on the other side of that bridge, Quincy’s Thomas Koch.
While the mayor says the situation at Mass and Cass has improved, she said this year has brought new challenges, particularly the influx of migrants straining the city’s adult shelter system.
City Councilor Henry Santana, who chairs the body’s Public Safety and Criminal Justice committee, said the new challenges there will require new solutions.
“This has always been an issue of intersecting and evolving crises — housing, opioid addiction and mental health — and now, the increasing influx of migrants,” Santana said in a Thursday statement.
“Many of the issues of a year ago have improved with actions taken by the city,” he said, “and the people and some of the issues that we’re seeing today are different, and require new solutions in partnership with the state, particularly to address the strains on the state shelter system and resources for mental health.”
The Boston Harborwalk, a 43-mile park and pedestrian pathway that stretches along the city’s coastline, will soon extend further north into Charlestown and beyond.
The city’s Planning Department this week approved putting the estimated $5.5 million project out for bids from contractors. The extension will connect to the existing Harborwalk and stretch along Terminal Street and the Little Mystic Channel.
“The new pathway will be beautifully landscaped and furnished with seating, shade shelters and exercise equipment,” said Planning Department Director of Real Estate Rebecca Tomasovic during the Boston Planning and Development Agency Board meeting on Thursday.
Tomasovic explained that currently, the land is unused and overgrown. Pedestrians in the area are limited to Terminal Street, which has no sidewalks and is used primarily as a truck route. The Harborwalk extension will allow safe pedestrian travel between Chelsea Street and the Charlestown Athletic Fields, she said.
Planning for the Boston Harborwalk began in the 1980s, according to its website. In addition to walkways, it includes green space, seating, informational signage, exhibit spaces, cafes and other amenities. When the Harborwalk is complete, it will stretch close to 50 miles between Chelsea Creek in East Boston and the Neponset River in Dorchester.
Beyond pedestrian safety and recreation, the Harborwalk is also part of the city’s planning for climate sustainability for the future.
A 2022 report from the Office of Climate Resilience recommended the Charlestown extension, as well as elevating the existing Harborwalk paths in the area, as the height protects against rising sea levels and flooding.
“The Harborwalk is both highly vulnerable to the impacts of sea-level rise and presents an opportunity to create a resilient coastal edge,” officials wrote in the report. “Redesigning the Harborwalk along the Little Mystic to incorporate coastal resilience infrastructures provides opportunities not only to reduce risks from flooding but also to enhance the benefits this amenity provides.”
In October, the city was awarded a $500,000 grant from MassTrails, a division of the state Department of Conservation and Recreation.
The city also expects to use over $1 million from the Massachusetts Gaming Commission in the form of mitigation funds from the nearby Encore Casino and $750,000 in private donations through the Mystic River Watershed Association.
The Milwaukee Bucks have struggled this season without their superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo. But against the Celtics, it was other veterans who stepped up, the old Bucks shined in a victory.
1. Bobby Portis Jr A+
The 30-year-old has struggled all season but against Boston, Bobby Portis was out if this world. Portis went for a season high 27 points on an absurd 84.6% from the floor. Portis knocked down 5 of his 6 three pointers and gathered 10 boards. Portis presence on the defensive end is always strong, but it was the offense tonight propelling the Bucks to the win.
2. Kyle Kuzma A+
The 30-year-old turned back the clock against the Celtics producing a season high 31 points and shooting 76% from the field. Kuzma anchored the Bucks comeback scoring 25 of his 31 points in the second and third quarters. The Bucks trailed by as many as 14 and ran it up to a 21-point lead late in the fourth.
3. Kevin Porter Jr. A+
Kevin Porter Jr. gathered his first triple double of the season with 18/10/13. The 25-year-old continues to be one of the few bright spots for Milwaukee in a career year. Porter was getting whatever he wanted offensively and created for his teammates at a high level. Most notably Kyle Kuzma who accounted for 7 of his assists.
On the darker side of things, Myles Turner was extinct on the offensive end yet again. Turner had four points and was one of six from the floor while only gathering 3 rebounds. Turner did however help the Bucks hold the Celtics to 13 third quarter points, swinging the momentum back in Milwaukee’s favor. But Turner still has to be better, and prove his worth. Turner played 0 minutes in the fourth quarter, a troubling trend we have seen throughout the season, although tonight didn’t call for his presence.
This was exactly the game the Bucks needed, a win against a top team in the East, but also a win without Giannis Antetokounmpo. While the win is a bright spot in a rather dull season, every win counts in their current sitaution. As more losses could make a Giannis trade more likely.
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Holiday deliveries are stacking up on Boston doorsteps and police warn that means porch pirate season is back.
In the past year, one in four Americans was a victim of package theft with losses averaging between $50 and $100 per incident, according data in a report on package thefts in 2025 from security.org.
December is the peak month for porch pirates, with households receiving 10 more packages on average at the end of the year than at the start, the report found. Additionally, those who live in apartments and condos are over three times as likely to have packages stolen than people in single-family homes.
The crimes are something Boston residents are no stranger to.
During the holiday season in 2024, South Boston was terrorized by an individual the Boston Police Department dubbed the “Tom Brady of Porch Pirates.”
A 34-year-old woman named Kerri Flynn was arrested in connection with the thieveries on Christmas Eve 2024, after a Boston police cadet saw her in South Boston holding two bags stuffed with unopened packages.
Prosecutors ultimately dismissed her charges related to the South Boston thefts, as she pleaded guilty to charges in two other larceny cases. Flynn was sentenced to a year of probation with conditions to remain drug-free with screens and undergo a substance abuse evaluation with treatment.
To avoid another season of stolen gifts, Boston police are urging residents to take precautions and released a video on the topic Thursday.
The department advises to track deliveries and be home — or ask a neighbor — to grab them, or use secure options like lockers or scheduled drop-offs. Police also say to install a doorbell camera and immediately report any missing items, regardless of price or size.
Carriers like Amazon, FedEx, UPS and USPS also have a few more pieces of advice, like requiring signatures for high-value items and to avoid leaving packages out overnight.
Amazon recommends using Lockers or Hub Counters and enabling Photo-on-Delivery, while UPS suggests signing up for My Choice to redirect packages to Access Points. USPS also offers “Informed Delivery” and options to hold for pickup — all tools that may keep holiday gifts from getting intercepted before they reach the tree.
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