Joys and worries

At Mayor's SE Coffee Hour

The Mayor's annual Coffee Hour in the South End, held at 9:30 AM on July 18, took a unique turn this year, combining the usual kaffeeklatsch with residents featuring Dunkin' Donuts coffee and treats and potted plants with the grand re-opening of the updated Monsignor Reynolds Playground at Washington and Malden Streets.

About 175 neighbors of all ages, including about 60 children from the Blackstone Community Center and IBA kids' programs joined Mayor Martin J. Walsh to cut the ribbon on the refurbished playground and to air their concerns and frustrations regarding rampant drug use, recent shootings, crime and vandalism around the South End.

Walsh was accompanied by administration officials including chief of health and human services Felix G. Arroyo, inspectional services chief William "Buddy" Christopher, Boston Transportation Department commissioner Gina Fiandaca; Jim Greene, director of the Emergency Shelter Commission, chief of streets Chris Osgood and Boston Parks and Recreation Department (BPRD) commissioner Christopher Cook, whose agency coordinated the event. Boston Police Department (BPD) D-4 captain Wayne Lanchester, officer Richie Litto, officer Bernadette McCarthy and community service officer Mayan Tamang were on hand to lend neighbors an ear as well.

Sam Chambers, outgoing South End/Bay Village liaison, was on hand to assist Faisa Sharif, a South End resident who just took over the post. Chambers now works as a public information officer for the Mayor. City Council District 2 candidates Michael Kelley and Ed Flynn also attended, talking and listening to residents throughout the event.

While the Mayor's Coffee Hour in the South End usually occurs in mid-May, this year's event was scheduled for mid-summer. Asked about the departure in scheduling, the Mayor and Chambers cited the desire to combine the coffee hour with the re-opening of the playground.

After greeting guests and mingling, the Mayor gathered the children around to help him cut the ribbon to the playground, which features new climbing and play equipment and a new, soft ground cover.

In his opening remarks, the Mayor announced funding for various improvements coming to the neighborhood, including renovation of the South End Library Park; street, sidewalk and signal enhancement along Harrison Avenue; updates to Titus Sparrow Park and renovation of the Carter Elementary School so that it can expand programs for children with disabilities. Walsh then launched into the issue that so many came to discuss: drug activity and homelessness on South End streets.

"It's not because Long Island Bridge was closed. What we have is people hanging around the streets who do not live in Boston," he began. Walsh said that his administration has housed 1,100 formerly homeless people in the past three years.

Walsh cited "major investment" over the past two years to add drug counselors and intake counselors to the city's homelessness program; opening the tented day center behind Southampton Street shelter to give homeless people lunch, coffee and intervention; asking the hotels to put fences around their properties; and meeting with the directors of the two methadone clinics over his concern that methadone users are not seeking the counseling and other services they need to become sober.

Walsh added that he has been talking to state officials about re-opening shuttered drug treatment programs in Quincy and other communities as well as opening homeless shelters in other cities and towns. "I want to apologize because people are angry; I can see it in your faces," Walsh said. "You have every right to be angry, but I need you to help us."

Bud Larievy, a board member of Washington Gateway Main Street and the Chester Square Neighborhood Association, cited statistics quoted by the BPD that 80 per cent of those coming for services in the South End are from outside the city and the Commonwealth. Larievy said that local business owners have told him they are adversely affected by the wandering addicts, and has heard of an uptick in home sales around East Springfield Street. Larievy also questioned the wisdom of combining the playground celebration with the coffee hour at which heavy topics such as drug abuse and crime were to be discussed.

A contingent of 30 to 40 members of the Worcester Square Area Neighborhood Association told the mayor about their increasing uneasiness and fear at seeing drug transactions, discarded needles, users injecting on the street and in the alleys, defecating, passing out and overdosing on a daily basis. WSANA board member Andrew Brand questioned the seriousness of the mayor's commitment to aiding South Enders.

"The neighbors were able to express their concerns to the mayor, but we haven't heard any city representative mention a single metric they were going to use to study the problem. The mayor was full of platitudes, but we've been talking about these things for years and nothing has happened. The amount of violence and gunshots has gotten worse. It doesn't give me confidence that they are taking the problem seriously."

He continued, "The Pine Street Inn is a national model for how to deal with neighborhood outreach. What we would like to see is for the service providers in the Melnea Cass and Worcester Square areas to try to create that same neighborhood outreach model. It's partly a city issue, a state issue and a service provider issue and they all need to work together to serve addicts and help providers achieve there goals." WSANA president George Stergios added, "That's our message."


After more than an hour of meeting with guests and posing for pictures, Mayor Walsh departed around 10:45 AM. Afterward, Cook commented, "Today was very, very special. There were kids from Blackstone and IBA who developed a curriculum around community engagement. They got to come to this coffee hour not only to see adults who took time out of their schedules to engage with the mayor and the mayor was totally engaged with those adults. On top of that, the kids themselves got to interview the mayor on his priorities for the city. I think it's our job to take that experience and reinforce more positive experiences with the government over the year. That's how you build citizenship."

Candidate Flynn said, "It's a great event, bringing people together, especially young people, investing in the neighborhood and giving them the opportunity to enjoy a beautiful park like this. It's also great to see city officials here giving residents a chance to talk about their concerns; to talk to City Hall right here in the park."