BOSTON — Boston Mayor Michelle Wu on Thursday had to cut her news conference on the city’s troubled Mass and Cass corridor short after being drowned out by a group of protestors chanting, “Shame on Wu!”
Speaking at Clifford Park on Shirley Street in Roxbury, Wu started off by saying, “It’s hard to stand here and talk to you all about how much progress we have made when I know it still feels like the city is bearing so much and is so visibly shaken by the depth of substance abuse disorder, mental health, and homelessness that we are still struggling to meet the demand to serve.”
The mayor had just announced the removal of 200,000 syringes from the area since January and was providing details on the ongoing work to relocate people from the area amid safety concerns when the hecklers started shouting at her, prompting Boston police officers to step in to keep things calm.
“There’s a lot of noise but I want to be able to share some of the information that we have been working on,” Wu said. A heckler then interrupted, yelling out, “We are not noise. We are human beings.”
Another protestor added, “Stop assaulting us!”
We responded, saying, “If we’re going to do it like this, we’re going to pull this down and talk to folks on the side.”
Before Wu could continue, an unrelenting chant broke out with protestors repeating, “Shame on Wu! Shame on Wu! Shame on Wu!”
Wu was ushered away from the park before she could finish delivering her speech. She later concluded in an indoor space away from the rowdy crowd.
Once the indoor news conference began, Mayor Wu stressed the need for help from the state in dealing with the “encampment crisis” the city is facing.
“We are in constant conversation with the state about the spectrum of support,” said Wu.
Wu was asked to respond to criticism that it’s taking too long get a handle on the problem, and that the city is not listening to the community’s concerns.
“I completely appreciate and respect the passion and the emotion that community members are feeling because this is our day-to-day experience for far too many of our young people and community members, having to absorb some of the impacts of this nationwide opiate crisis,” said Wu.
“From day one, it’s been new strategies, new approaches, looking to figure out how we can direct our resources in the right way,” said Wu. “We continue to troubleshoot every possible situation we can, not just in Clifford Park, but under some of our bridges across the city and other parks and open spaces.”
Some community activists who showed up to Thursday’s news conference to ask questions told Boston 25 News they remain skeptical that any progress is being made.
“The city often takes the approach of telling you all the different things that they’ve done,” said South End resident Jonathan Alves. “At the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter because it’s what people see and feel, and they’re not feeling the change.”
City officials said from last October to this October, the number of unhoused people in the area dropped from 262 to 173.
According to Mayor Wu, the city of Boston has connected nearly 400 people to low-threshold, temporary housing and secured permanent housing for 65 people since January.
“We know it’s not an easy fix, and we know it’s a complicated problem, but I need to see that there’s progress going forward,” said Roxbury resident Marla Smith.
The city of Boston is asking that the state help to create 1,000 new low-threshold housing units outside the city of Boston.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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