##VIDEO ID:jN6Za3iB2Dk## [Music] [Music] [Music] I for [Music] sh [Music] [Music] what [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] for the record my name is Henry Santana at large city counselor and I am the chair of the Boston city council Committee on Public Safety and criminal justice today is November 26 2024 this hearing is being recorded is also being live streamed at Boston ov/ city-council DTV and broadcast it on exfinity Channel 8 RCN channel 82 and files Channel 964 written comments may be sent to the committee email at CCC PS boston.gov and will be made part will be made part of the record and available to all counselors public testimony will be taken at the end of this hearing individuals be called on in the in the order in which takes signed up and we'll have 2 minutes to testify if you are interested in testifying in person please add your name to the sign up sheet near the entrance of the chamber if you are looking to testify virtually please email our Central staff liaison Shane Pac shane. Pac boston.gov for the link and your name will be added to the list today's hearing is on docket number 1562 order for a hearing regarding Public Safety and quality of life issues in downtown and Boston Common this matter was sponsored by councilors Ed Flynn and Julia Mahia and was referred to the committee on October 23 2024 today I am joined by my colleagues in order of arrival counselor Aaron Murphy councelor Ed Flynn we also received letters of absence from councelor Brian Morel and councelor Enrique pepen before we begin I'd like to just ask folks to please silence their phones and devices I'd like to hand the FL over now to my colleagues for opening remarks beginning with the lead sponsor and original co-sponsor and then proceeding in order of arrival for our other colleagues Council FN you have the floor thank you Mr chair thank you for chairing this important hearing I also want to recognize my colleague councelor Mahia at lodge city council for co-sponsoring this important hearing with me as well I know Council Mahir is not feeling well uh she did want to be here we called for this hearing to address Public Safety challenges in the area of Boston Common down Tom Boston as well as the critical need to enhance City response and services over the last few months over the last many years downtown residents families business office workers have reached out to my office to me personally regarding the rising visibility of open air drug dealing drug consumption violent crime including stabbings and assaults an overall decline in Public Safety in and around Boston Common in Downtown Crossing residents as well as workers tourist have expressed to me that they at times at times do not feel safe walking in the Boston Common in Downtown Crossing dur during certain times of the day not just in the evenings students as well live in that neighborhood parents of young children many of whom are downtown residents they walk their kids to preschool every morning they have expressed frustration to me directly for the safety of their children the unhealthy environment that they walk by in the common to pick up and drop off their kids I have met these parents at least a half dozen times they are concerned some businesses including restaurants and coffee shops speak of having to put in increased security measures shortening their business hours in the evening to protect their staff and businesses for fear of personal safety Tremont Street is a perfect example there have been multiple reports from tour operators who have either rerouted or decided to skip Boston commment altogether in the summer following a stabbing in Downtown Crossing I partnered with the Boston downtown Boston Alliance formally the Boston bid along with the downtown residents association with the colleges and universities business owners workers for Public Safety walkthrough with residents we have done this probably 15 times over the last seven years we met with business owners we met with University Partners Boston police play a critical role many have expressed unease and concern of safety due to instances of aggressive behavior drug dealing along Winter Street Tremont Street Pac Street the breu fountain I met with the Beacon Hill Nursery school after a 4-year-old in caregiver was assaulted by a woman in October there was another stabbing near Brewer Fountain where many parents reportedly witnessed the aftermath while walking their children to school I together with Boston police A1 were at the school as well with Sergeant crosson we were out front when that took place and we met with the parents as they were coming in walking by the stabbing and express to us how unsafe they feel in the neighborhood downtown Boston Boston Comm remain both critical economic engines home to some of the most important historic sites in our country there is an urgent need to re-evaluate the current strategy and addressing public safety quality of life issues in the hot of Boston we need to have a zero tolerance policy for any criminal activity and arrest criminals when they are committing illegal activities this is also a criminal justice issue and Those who commit violent crimes should receive a state sentence in my opinion we also need to discuss strategies to provide support and resources for those who are struggling with mental health substance use disorders I invited the coordinated response team as well as the district attorney to listen in on the hearing today but unfortunately the District Attorney's office is not able to make it today however we must continue to work together with City officials our law enforcement Partners the DA's office residents businesses downtown in the Parks Advocates who play a critical role Friends of the public God and tremendous leadership from them final analysis we need a safe Downtown Crossing we need a safe Boston Common progress is being made we have to stay on top of this issue I know this area probably as well as anyone in city government or certainly anyone in City Hall I I worked as a superior court probation officer at the courthouse for8 years prior to this I went to high school here at D bosow in Chinatown been a city council for eight years I know this area love this area I'm in I'm in the downtown crossing area every day you I like to see my friend George over here sometimes George speaks too long when I get him we have coffee and I end up want to be with George for 10 minutes and I end up staying for an hour with George but I love the neighborhood I love the people it's about working together thank you Mr chair thank you councelor Flynn councelor ER Murphy you have the floor thank you chair and I want to thank the panelists who were here and um thank you councilor Flynn for convening us I know when you brought this up at the council um hearing that day you really spoke to your understanding of this issue and you know it wasn't just what we see on the media or what we hear like you're you're in this neighborhood all the time and I want to thank you you invited me a few times we've had Zoom meetings um where you've gathered us together including the colleges in the neighborhood you have a very unique neighborhood the downtown Boston area we have colleges business owners and of course the residents who live here who um and thank you to the you know Rishi for your advocacy and others making sure that the residents don't feel like they're drowned out by all the other needs that the downtown district brings to the city so thank you for that and you know I've also heard directly from you know the police in Awan that there is an increase in a population of homeless or those struggling with mental health and substance use disorder and we've had hearings on different issues but the fact of you know the tent encampment coming down has that brought more of a population to this area and do we need to address you know a new plan of action to make sure that we have the resources necessary so that those struggling get what they need but those who live here and those who come and visit and those who work feel safe everyone deserves that so looking forward to this conversation and partnering however we can to make sure we get this right for everyone so thank you for being here thank you thank you councelor Murphy this time we've also been joined by District counselor um Sharon durus um you have the floor right now if you have any opening remarks thank you so much counselor Santana or I should say chair Santana for hosting such an important discussion on the public safety of our common spaces Safety and Security is Paramount importance to me my office and I know to the city as a whole um and I know that sometimes we think of uh these things as district lines but I know that my um constituents enjoy having a glass of wine downtown they enjoy being our public spaces they enjoy being able to move freely through our city which is extremely walkable and so these these issues are important to all of us I do want to share a different framing about Public Safety in downtown Boston and the Boston common first I want to thank the hard work that bpda has done tirelessly and professionally under the leadership of commissioner Cox policing is a difficult and important task Boston's statistical success around violent crime prevention compared to its peers is a Testament to the exemplary work done by our Public Safety and Community organizations both inside and outside government thank you to the Friends of the public garden the beacon Hall civic association um and many and the parks department and others that said while I share concerns raised at this hearing I caution us against perpetuating a narrative that could cause potential harm to our City's vitality and and reputation yes we have the duty to Steward an environment that upholds public order and safety but we must must do so with Nuance precision and without creating unnecessary fear I've spoken directly with residents and I've heard positive developments just recently I received a heartfelt letter from a Beacon Hill resident who walked past the Brewer fountain with her one-year-old child feeling completely safe she remarked that this experience reignited her love for Boston a city she now sees as truly beautiful with kind and wonderful people the other night I went to go check out the common for myself which I live .1 miles from so I'm there often and um I noticed people laughing people having fun um and I noticed a decrease in some of the crime that I had witnessed prior our A1 police have been responsive um and I know our Cadets and training program um is just gearing up and they have a lot of work that they are excited to do as well after requests from myself and community members they've increased foot patrols um and I have to shout out the friends of the public garden and the downtown um bid now the downtown Alliance um for their work here um which have made a tangible difference in ensuring the Boston Common remains a safe place these are the kind of collaborative Solutions we should be highlighting we should also be highlighting the facts Boston statistically um is a safe city um I have the Gallop poll from last year that ranks us among of people's feeling of the city as among one of the safest cities in America but we do know that public disorder in community spaces increased during the pandemic and we're still working diligently to get back to prepandemic levels I'm deeply concerned about the way we discuss Public Safety particularly in this chamber and in media reports I've heard directly from commercial real estate professionals that the current discourse is potentially Hara having a negative impact on businesses that are willing to move downtown every negative narrative risk reducing the foot traffic and Community engagement that we need to contribute to Public Safety let me be clear businesses bring eyes to the streets provide internships and jobs for local residents and students and are critical to our Urban ecosystem when we sens sensationalize safety concerns we risk driving away the very activity that helps make for a safer and more vibrant neighborhood this hearing should not become a platform for fear-mongering but a constructive dialogue that is measured community-driven and really puts the facts forward we have remarkable Partnerships in the city with Public Safety departments and in our local community who are doing the critical work to address these complex challenges our approach has to be balanced we must address legitimate safety concerns while also celebrating the extraordinary progress we've made and still and still the work we have to do Boston is not just becoming safer we are becoming a model for urban stewardship I support a hearing that brings stakeholders together but I Ask of my colleagues let us speak about Boston with hope dignity and optimism thank you thank you councelor Durkin um we've also been joined by excuse me we've also been joined by city council president Ren um you have the floor right now if you have any open remarks you'd like to make thank you Mr chair and thank you for everyone for being here thank you to councel Flynn for this filing and thank you to them uh panel for being here Liz for your tremendous work still sad to see you go I see Leslie and the audience to know that friends will be in a good place but just thank you for all you've done uh you know Michael Nichols there are not enough words for me to say about what you've been doing to try to uplift downtown and the through the B downtown uh uh uh B downtown business Alliance I think I think it's incredible and I think the amount of enthusiasm that you put into Boston into downtown Boston being this attraction Center for everyone I mean I was as a young kid growing up in the city used to hang out in downtown Boston and I wish that downtown Boston that I grew up in was one that was as intentional as inclusive and as fun as you're trying to make it so I just want to thank you for that that intentionality is just such a beautiful thing to see as someone who grew up in this the city and richy for the work that you do on behalf of residents it's really important like I just want to stamp a th% everything that my colleague councel Durkin said know this is her district and she cares deeply about it but you know downtown is always a gathering spot for so many people and we need to make sure that it's open and welcoming to all and we also make sure want to make sure that we're dealing with issues of of of of crime and the fear of crime right commissioner Cox has a great framing of how he views uh issues of safety in the in the city and there's just there's both uh there's both violence and the fear of violence and we do need to tackle both and we need to make sure that we are not sensationalizing what's happening to make sure that Boston is still the safest and most attractive City that we can make it for everyone I know that when when there's one stabbing when there's one issue that's one too many that's enough to disrupt how we feel in our own City especially if you if if the park is indeed your backyard so there's work to do and I just want to thank um everyone for working collaboratively working together working um with a positive attitude to really address these issues everyone from um uh Deputy uh superintendent humph to everyone at A1 and everyone in our parks department because it's all of us working collaboratively that's going to really address these issues and also supporting you know for for people who are in the downtown area who don't have anywhere else to be that means supporting more Supportive Housing more um saying yes to more opportunities for folks to have different different different places to call home and I think that's what we all have to do here as a city so looking forward to hearing from everyone um and and they want to thank all of the residents for coming out for talking to us about the about your concerns and we're listening and working collaboratively to address them so thank you thank you council president um at this time I'd like to provide an overview of the panelists um the committee invited to testify on behalf of the community um Elizabeth Visa president of the friends of the of the public garden Michael Nichols president of downtown Boston Alliance um Rashid Shukla co-founder and leadership team of the downtown Boston neighborhood association and on Zoom with um with us today um is Colin Z president of the Beacon Hill civic association um for the panelists who are here today I'd like to um to ask each of you to just state your name and title for the record and once everyone has introduced themselves we'll move forward with open remarks so we can get started yeah Liz V the president of friends of the public garden Good Michael Nichols president of the downtown Boston Alliance rishy shla co-founder of leadership team member downtown Boston neighborhood association great Colin zck uh president Beacon Hill civic association awesome thank you so much thank you all at this time i' like to invite our panelist to please proceed with open and remarks I just kindly ask that in order to allow time for counselor questions and discussion and also um public testimony um that you limit your opening statements to 5 minutes per panelist with that please proceed with open remarks in whatever order you like we go this way and move down today I'm testifying on behalf of the of the friends of the public garden as well as supporters and park visitors who use our three Parks we have worked with the city for over 50 years to care and advocate for the Boston Common the public garden Commonwealth Avenue Mall 7 million people every year come to these Parks over 60,000 people consider these their neighborhood parks they are intensively used the Boston Common the first P public park in America is the most intensively um permitted and used par par in the city it is our Center of Civic life and it's a place for celebrations and protests and special events and it's just a really amazing space that we uh desperately need you know this city would not be a liveable city without our park so we're very proud and honored to work with the city on behalf of these parks for everybody in terms of the focus of this uh Committee hearing we don't have oversight of park rules and regulations or Public Safety we often get calls and in inquiries from our members and and neighbors to have us help out with this issue we are conveners we are Advocates we've worked with over two dozen um agencies and organizations beyond the the public uh partners that we work with schools and and uh meet Boston and um Civic organizations to try and and hold this issue as a really important one because this in order for people to care about these parts they need to be safe and welcoming and accessible to every everybody everyone needs to know that they're they're welcome and unfortunately we' have had some issues and and more issues this year than than in recent prior years I think the pandemic was a hard time and we've we're all trying to to to work our way back from from a difficult moment for our community and these are issues that impact um everybody they impact the downtown as well as people that come to the common as the city expands we find our organizations searching for new and effective responses to an intensifying problem of incidents of violence coupled with and again I want to be aware that there is Nuance there are people that are suffering from mental health issues from substance abuse issues from homelessness issues and that just become more intensified people cannot find places to live and and support services that they need that said we are very um blessed with the number of Support Services we have in that neighborhood that are as close to the common and we recognize that public health and safety issues are inevitable in a major city so effective responses are necessary to curb elicit activities that often accompany these issues and many times those people that are suffering are become the victims of drug dealers that that prey on them so we would like to uh very much commit oursel to working collectively towards a clear and comprehensive plan to address these concerns and will provide reassurance and restore confidence in our ability to deal with these issues if we are telegraphing to everybody that the public and the private and and nonprofit world are working together we have been an advocate for public safety for many years collaborating with the parks department the park rangers the Boston police including many A1 captains over the years and the last three um Commissioners po police Commissioners as well as Emerson College meet Boston which runs a visitor center and social service agencies and we've worked also on issues such as homeless feeding programs and people that come from out of the city have a sense that they want to be compassionate caring for people that are homeless but that has unintended consequences so one year we convene the city and many agencies St Francis House St Anthony Shrine to talk about how could we redirect that interest to making sure that people can come into a St Francis out and get the services they need as well as a free meal because those are problems that just magnify the issues in the common we've also engaged and are now advocating for a more robust Public Safety plan that not only engages Boston police but also the DA's office and the courts for there to be long-term impactful intervention in cases where repeat offenders are returning to the park with impunity that's a cycle that has got to stop the police are doing a great job they're doing what they can but we cannot AR arrest our way out of the problem it's a complicated problem and we need those other agencies to do their part in a very collaborative way our staff and community members have had several unpleasant incidences on the common including when the father of one of our staff members was assaulted while while purchasing a lemonade in the afternoon a resident walking their children to the park on their way to school was a exposed to open drug use and the staff had to shut down our Park activations at Brewer Plaza because of an indecent exposure incident threats and an assault with broken glass being thrown at them our parks are vulnerable to unsanitary conditions such as public defecation and it happened a lot at the um there's a certain point in time where it was happening at that um Beer Garden that the Emerson College was managing so wonderfully discarded drug drug needles threaten Public Safety environmental um health and human and animal welfare and we heard a lot about that from dog owners that come to the park these are becoming more commonplace adding logistical complexity and cost to Everyday operations and making it risky for Park staff to maintain the parks and difficult for Park vendors longtime Financial viability these incidents a few examples of many have escalated concern about Public Safety from residents businesses and neighbors and we've heard multiple complaints we're encouraging people to go to 311 to make sure that those issues are are registered and that the city knows about them and we are doing all we can to support efforts to address growing health and safety issues and the perception of those so this is a priority for us along with all the work we do caring for these Parks enhancing these parks and making sure that everybody believes that these parts belong to them so we are looking forward to continuing that work with the City and with all the partners that we have worked with for so many years thank you very much good afternoon chairman Santana members of the Boston city council my name is Michael Nichols and I serve as president of the downtown Boston Alliance formerly known as the downtown Boston business improvement district I'm joined today by Samantha Brien the dba's Outreach and engagement manager we are here on the invitation of the committee and City councelor Ed Flynn to offer our organization's testimony with respect to docket number 1562 for those who may not know the downtown Boston Alliance is a 14-year-old nonprofit business improvement district working to enhance the livability and business climate in downtown Boston through our public private partnership with the city of Boston the alliance provides supplemental services in Downtown Crossing and the financial district that includes cleaning and waste management ambassadorial work to Steward visitors Social Services coordination event production and public art exhibitions branding and marketing efforts Economic Development and new business attractions services and much more we have also since our Inception worked closely with City officials and especially our partners at the Boston Police Department in collaborative efforts to ensure a safe environment downtown the state of the safety landscape in our City's broader downtown extending Beyond solely the alliance's service area is nuanced and quite fluid when it's often stated that Boston is the safest major city in America with the country's safest major city downtown there is much truth to that view peers leading bids and Other Place Management organizations around the rest of the country Marvel at our statistics they Rave about their first-person experiences visiting Boston Suburban visitors and those from around the rest of the world can visit Boston with less fear of being the victim of a crime than virtually any other major city in the country while Boston's historically low homicide rate has garnered the most headlines this year our city and our Police Department have long done well across the board in the evolution toward making our city safer each year however a safety reputation built over time is only as good in most cases as your most recent personal experiences and the safety situation experienced by residents workers and visitors in our City's broader downtown this year was often totally unacceptable by any standard and certainly the quite high standard we've built for ourselves in the Boston of today and this is no commentary on Boston's homeless population for whom our organization and others continue to dedicate support services but rather this observation is focused on criminal behaviors including violence that usually emanates from those seeking to profit from the opioid and Fentanyl epidemic for too much of this year criminal drug dealing and the related quality of life crimes that result from congregant drug use have tainted many of the jewels of our city including Downtown Crossing still our organization and the downtown's business Community sees the woo Administration and the Boston Police Department is aware of these challenges and working to Marshall the needed resources to address the problem we have appreciated the deployment of a significant number of new officers from the last two classes of the police academy to the downtown area and in recent months have seen the changes in the deployment of other officers to attempt to better and more tactically address problem areas it's increasingly true that there is a multi-jurisdictional public private conversation underway to address the issues many observe in our broader downtown and we should not waste a moment in seeking lasting improvements crime and safety issues are often sick we experienced a difficult part of this cycle over the last 12 months and though overwhelmingly the 235 million plus people who visited downtown Boston alliance's service area over the last year did so safely and without issue but it is critical that we collectively do better in the year ahead to support and catalyze the return of office workers to establish a safer environment for existing and prospective residents and to continue to encourage the reliable foot traffic of tourists and suburbanites in any else interested in spending time on our downtown streets I thank the committee and the proponents of this order for focusing on an issue of such importance and for welcoming us to provide a few words good afternoon thank you chair Santana thank you councelor split and Maha for organizing today's hearing and for the invitation to speak at this panel I'm Rishi shla I'm a downtown resident I've lived in Boston for 25 consecutive years I went to college here I went to grad school here professionally I invest in companies I serve on a number of nonprofit and for-profit Boards most importantly though I'm a father I'm a father of two beautiful children my wife and I love this city and we love calling downtown our home I'm here today in my capacity as co-founder and leadership team member of the downtown Boston neighborhood association I have a few slides that I'll flip through in a few minutes but for context we exist for one simple reason we're here to engage inform power downtown Boston residents workers stakeholders from all walks of life we want to create forums for opportunity discussion debate to figure out what's working what's not and where we can be better as it's been said before downtown Boston is home to a plethora of jewels of our city we're also home to 12,000 residents we are professionals we are students we are folks who come here for a few years and folks who here for many our homes are more vertical than they are lateral and at times that causes folks to say I wonder if people actually live in downtown or not we do there are many of us we call the Boston Comm in our backyard it's one of the most beautiful and most precious jewels of our city we need to keep it that way we are an economic cultural and academic Hub we're also a Transportation Hub many things go through downtown Boston and indeed it's a gateway to our great City everyone who lives Works commutes studies passes through downtown Boston deserves two things they deserve to be safe and they deserve to feel safe we're here today to talk about Public Safety Public Safety as we've talked about earlier it's it's very nuanced this isn't a simple issue it's not one-dimensional it's not just about violent crime and homicides it's about a lot more I'm grateful to our city council Ed Flynn for putting this issue on the map and keeping it there I'm grateful to my colleagues at the Boston Police Department Captain Martin you know Sergeant crosson uh now Captain Driscoll the attention that they've paid to this issue is remarkable and they're doing everything within their control and power to impact the issue and to help change the narrative I'm also grateful to my fellow panelists Liz Michael their staff who are here today for your ongoing collaboration as we try to make downtown the best version of itself so why are we here today as councelor Flynn has shared we've probably done 15 or 20 of these meetings and hearings over the last few years I'm always happy to do it but it's also very disappointing and discouraging when you have to do it so often and that has been the case over the last 6 to8 months so let's speak fact to the hearing over the last 6 months we've seen an uptick in open air drug dealing drug and alcohol consumption we've seen a large a large dislocation of the mass M and cast population onto the Boston Common and into downtown we've seen residents workers commuters and visitors avoiding challenging areas of our park and neighborhood we've seen children as has been discussed on their way to school on their way back to home to theaters to restaurants bearing witness to violence I used to work at Boston Medical Center in Pediatrics there was a program called the child witness to violence program it exists for a reason children who were exposed to trauma and violence at that young of an Agee at last life time it can have debilitating impact that's not acceptable our streets have become a free-for-all it seems again Public Safety is not just about violent crime and it's not just about homicide we can't have mopeds scooters and bikers recklessly running through red lights hitting pedestrians having n misses that's not okay that impacts Public Safety that impacts your quality of life our shelters are stretched Beyond capacity I'm on the board of the St Francis House one of the largest day shelters in this country our Frontline workers report being more fearful for their own safety given the types of drugs and activity that they're encountering residents child care providers tourists students workers folks who come through downtown are often intimidated being followed by folks who are abusing drugs or who have mental health disorders and that also impacts and impairs your quality of life in advance of today's hearing I'm a business guy who cares about numbers and facts we decided to pull are members we're members about a thousand folks who are comprised of residents workers folks who own property in Boston I'm going to flip through a few slides to share some of our findings so just a level set we had over 300 responses to our survey in a matter of 96 hours that's the largest response to a survey that we've ever had it speaks to how important this issue is to folks who live and work in downtown Boston the majority of folks who responded are residents many are parents of Nursery School students many are business and property owners and many work in downtown these aren't surprising numbers I'll point out that 30% of the residents who responded have children at the age of 18 who live in their home in downtown Boston so we have a large parent sample age distribution as you can see is is pretty varied so it's a good representative sample of folks who live and come through downtown we asked a simple question do you feel more or less safe in downtown Boston in the Boston Common today than you did at the beginning of the year 71% of folks who responded reported being less safe 28% roughly reported no change what I don't know the answer to Is how did you actually feel a year ago was it not very safe was it very safe let's just assume that it was average 71% of folks responded feeling less safe today let that sink in this is where where there's a disconnect between what we often hear in the media when we often hear coming out of City Hall which is that Boston is one of the safest cities in the country it is when you speak specifically about violent crime and homicide but your lived experiences dictate what you're seeing up here there's a massive disconnect that we need to address when you ask folks about how do you feel in terms of Public Safety being an urgent issue in downtown Boston 7 8 n or 10 those are the responses 9 9 1% of folks view this as an urgent issue these are people who care a lot about downtown Boston and its future 91% reported being a 78 n or a 10 the boss in common relatively similar folks who come through Boston and the Boston Common and who live in this area think this is an important enough issue to respond the way they have we can't will our way out of this it's not going to be an easy journey and there's a lot of work that needs to be done Boston is rightfully described as I said as one of the safest cities in our nation but you have to click in and focus on the details at the end of the day when we talk about Public Safety context absolutely matters your location the time of day the cycle that you're in your lived experiences where you are in your stage of life it's about far more than just homicide and violent crime it entails basic Law and Order that includes enforcement preventing and deterring criminal activity assisting the homeless the homeless are part of our community in downtown we're proud to be a safe neighborhood for all folks who come through it we need to get our homeless neighbors the help that they need to rehabilitate to get back on their feet and to restart their lives we need to provide treatment to folks experiencing mental health disorders and experiencing addiction designing and maintaining safe roads for vehicles bikers pedestrians design maintaining safe sidewalks area ways for pedestrians and keeping our public spaces activated and free of trash needles and waste Public Safety underpins every aspect of Our Lives it interp underpins Society quality of life and our economy we're not going to solve Public Safety challenges in a vacuum and we're not going to solve them overnight but we do need decisive leadership cooperation between the city and the state and across all sectors it is the most fundamental responsibility of our government as Citizens we can't arrest we can't make rules and regulations we need the government to lead the way here and it needs to be addressed holistically given these issues I believe and I don't think we've done this yet we need to convene the following agencies and we need to be locked in a room until we figure out the top three or four things that can be done to impact the issue from the city it's the May offit it's the Boston city council it's the police department the coordinated Response Team the Boston Emergency Services team the best team who many of you know the Boston Public Health commission the Boston transportation department parks and wreck from the state it's our state senators our state representatives the District Attorney's Office the MBTA Transit Police and the Department of Public Health and other stakeholders including my colleagues who are joined joining me on the panel today uh as well as our universities and colleges our neighborhood ass Association and the neighborhood shelters and churches how many times can our officers arrest the same person only to see them back on the street committing the same crime we need the DA's office to step up and to do its job and to be tougher on crime the current approach is broken and it's unacceptable when you're on the street praying on the homeless pushing hard drugs carrying weapons pillaging retail stores and flying through red lights with no regard for human safety there should be a consequence and there shouldn't be chances for remediation finally what happens if we do nothing I'm not a doom and gloom kind of guy I'm the father of two impressionable idealistic kids and I'm positive where I can be but we have to speak truth to the issue if you do nothing you'll continue to have negative impacts on quality of life residents will consider leaving the neighborhood diminish trust in government and agencies that are entrusted to protect declines in tourism children being witnessed to violence as we've talked about a declining customer base for our local businesses fewer release renewals more retail vacancies and declining commercial and residential property values and over time Urban Decay long-term reputational damages none of us want to see those things happen those are unacceptable outcomes I challenge us not to let this be like most other meetings and hearings where we talk about the issue we agree that we have an issue that we have to work on and then we come back again 6 months from now only to see a worsening of the situation this moment calls Upon Our highest ideals and sensibilities for us to put aside partisanship and to get a few things done whether you're an elected official in the private sector from the social services sector or just an ordinary citizen trying to impact the issue we all have to do more and we all have to do better the future of our city depends on our Collective action and in action thank you for the opportunity thank you rade you counc s s I'm Colin yep go ahead Colin we can hear you thank you um I appreciate the opportunity to speak here I want to thank you for chairing this uh this meeting I want to thank councel and president uh louisan councelors Flynn and Mahia for calling the hearing my counselor Sharon Durkin and and councelor Murphy other City officials uh the other stakeholders uh who are here today uh Liz and Leslie lead in The Gallery Mike and Rishi and the members of the public uh as I said I'm Colin zck president of the Beacon Hill civic association we are a volunteer organization that works to help preserve and enhance the quality of life around Beacon Hill which of course is a historic Urban and residential neighborhood in downtown Boston uh and we have seen many of the same issues that have been reflected in the testimony already here today uh I apologize for not being there in person I have some holiday related obligations but I appreciate the chance to speak I'm relatively new in my position I've been in this job for just 6 months uh but I have served for over 10 years on the Beacon Hill civic association board and served as its chair for parks and public spaces for nearly that long I've also served and still serve on the board of the friends of the public garden um I got involved actually with the friends of the public garden over 10 years ago when I found a switchblade under a trash can while playing with my children on the Boston Common ball field so I'm not naive to say that these problems here are new um but they are a different kind that I've experienced in my 30 plus years living and working in Boston uh my day job is as a lawyer I again realistic about the challenges our society faced I've rais two children in Boston my wife and I I got to give her credit there otherwise I'm going to get in trouble and we sent them to Boston Public Schools I walk in the common or the public garden virtually every day and so I think I have a pretty good sense about what's going on there and how it may have changed uh and if you want to see that I would point you uh and I appreciate the survey that Rishi did point to another way that we survey things look at the Google reviews uh you can see a Google review uh from three weeks ago reeks of weed regarding Boston Comon don't bring your family here secondhand smoke is dangerous to kids uh the other review I saw just the top quite a change here from 2007 last time I visited bunch of drug addicts and meth addicts sitting all over the Park police seem to be not bothered by the scene I don't recommend visiting the park with kids it's very nasty under the trees you will see used tampons and condoms uh that's not me that's what the world is seeing and saying about Boston Common now that it wasn't seeing and saying in the past and I think these are issues that are Public Safety and Frank economic issues that have to be addressed if we're going to preserve the Vitality of these resources as I said I became president of the Beacon Hill civic association just 6 months ago and really felt like it was immediately confronted with what our residents thought was a crisis increased drug use homeless encampments personal assaults vandalisms and I saw it myself I go for runs on the espot and there were consistent encampments involving intervenous drug use underneath the Appleton Footbridge when I went on my way to work to through Boston Comet the Brewer Plaza rre of marijuana and you can see the drug dealing I was shocked one morning to see dice games going on at 7:00 in the morning that didn't used to happen down there um just last night I walked through the comet I watched someone bed down on their shopping cart right by the Frog Pond playground um this is not what we're used to uh it is unusual it is not normal and it is not acceptable you've heard and I won't repeat all of them but the perceptions of people are that it is less safe I think that is borne out by the activity we see in particular on Beacon Hill one thing that wasn't mentioned uh we were as a as a neighborhood victimized by an unregistered sex offender in serial criminal a fellow named James sha who was released from custody and immediately broke into three Charles Street establishments each of those women owned and operated you can imagine the fear that went through those people to know that he was an unregistered sex offender now through efforts of our neighborhood association we were able to make sure that he was brought into custody that he did some jail time but then he was paroled without any notice to the community except for one stor holder who happened to be able to register as a crime victim in that regard I feel it's very unfortunate that the District Attorney's office is not represented here as they are a key part of addressing the problems that we face as other as other panelists have said these issues have to be addressed by all of us working together that's why in June the Beacon Hill civic association convened stakeholders around the problem at the Appleton Footbridge and we appreciated the Boston Police Department other aspects of the city government U City councelor Durkin and others who participated in that and we've seen Improvement there similarly we've started to see Improvement on B in common but it was only after things got absolutely out of control and I was getting calls from Neighbors particularly from the Park Street school but we also heard the example from The Beacon Hill Nursery School where a woman was pushed into a glass door and had to be taken to the emergency room at Mass General I mentioned my kids went to Boston Public Schools they used to walk to the green line to go to school starting as seventh graders I never had a concern for them doing so and now I might be thinking differently that is a change over where we're at we're not looking to point fingers I think everyone on the panel is looking for constructive Solutions and we've seen just from the short-term changes what some of those Solutions are likely to be increased police presence it seems to have worked having gone through their in common but we can't let down our guard also consistent with that it's important that we find a role for the park rangers right now all they seem able to do is call the police the we're paying them to do something I think we need to expect something more of them than that and give them the tools with which to be able to act to protect the park that they're serving uh we need better lighting we need better surveillance I believe cameras are coming in around the Brewer Fountain area an area that used to be filled with food trucks and people enjoying lunches and music uh and now is basically vacant which is better than what the alternative was which was uh drug dealing and open drug use it's important that we keep up the cleanliness and the public space maintenance in these spaces and overall it's important that we provide services for the folks who as was noted are really being victimized out in these spaces um as a long-term resident of Boston I think we feel the absence of the Long Island services and I think we have to come up with solutions that are going to address those we need to be able to have people come to Boston in common as our community and share in that space everyone who wants to be there who wants to be there and enjoy it safely I remember uh as a longtime passer through uh there was a guy named Mikey and Mikey would always ask for change as he walked through and he'd call you big guys you walk through and no one ever felt unsafe by his presence he was unhoused and that didn't make it unsafe and he actually became such a member of the community um that when he passed away last year his obituary was in the Boston Globe um that's not what we're talking about and we're not saying that the homeless need to be banished but rather there need to be Services brought to bear to these folks who really really need those Services the Vitality of Downtown Crossing and Boston comedy is key not just to Beacon Hill not just to Downtown Crossing but to the success of the city if we are going to bring people back downtown to work and to enjoy the cultural opportunities that are there they have to think it's safe it's not just that it is safe but they have to think it's safe and so perception in this sense is reality so I thank you for the opportunity to speak and happy to take any questions that counselors may have thank you so much Colin um and really appreciate our panelists for those opening remarks um at this time I'd like to now move forward with counselor questions um starting with the lead sponsor um counselors will have 7 minutes um to ask questions um and then we will proceed so um councelor Flynn you have the floor thank you Mr chair and just want to clarify I know one of my colleagues mentioned that I don't represent downtown Boston Downtown Crossing area I do represent downtown Boston I do represent Downtown Crossing I'm in that neighborhood every day I talk to Rishi I talk to Liz and and to Mike um but I represent Downtown Crossing I just want to be clear on that issue um I understand that there's there's some confusion but I wanted to set the record straight Rishi you had a poll that residents responded to mostly on Public Safety other quality life issues um we were working with the pastor over St Paul's on on trimont Street there and she told me that it was the worst she's ever seen that particular area in in 20 years um is there a sense that residents are afraid to go out at night that it is that is that's what you're hearing or is it that we just have to do more we just have to work together more to deal with these Public Safety challenges concerns what did you get a sense from as it related to your poll thank you councelor Flynn so we will this share with you all um the full version of the the polling including comments that came in which I think are very insightful what I'd say is that over the last six to to n months more and more residents who have to experience the neighborhood in the evening you if you have a puppy if you have kids you're trying to pick up in you know daylight savings it's dark at 4:00 4:30 you avoid certain parts of the neighborhood because you understand them to be less safe so to be precise Park Street Tremont right Brewer Fountain parts of winter those are hot spots Arch and summer we know those are hot spots and so parents nannies caregivers they're they're typically uh avoiding or told to avoid those parts of the neighborhood daytime or or evening uh so ccor fun I think it's a combination of folks feel less safe in those parts of the neighborhood because there has objectively been more crime and activity uh in those areas but the totality of issues when you're having to avoid parts of your neighborhood that that's not a good feeling or a good look for the city and so we have to figure out how to clean up and activate the troubled parts of of the neighborhood and I think those are obvious uh in terms of what they are and you know look we have friends who have um you know dogs that they walk myself as well 6:00 in the morning 6:30 in the morning through the common uh you avoid certain parts of the common because you know there's a high likelihood of an encounter or an needle or human waste uh and that's dangerous to both yourself and and your pet and so uh there there's a comination of things that play here it's it's obviously complicated thank you reishi to the resident Association incredible work that you guys are doing um earlier this later this summer there was a young woman on Boon Street in the corner of Boyston Street and tremon Street um Asian woman probably in her mid 20s randomly punched in the face um by by a homeless man I went with my assistant to visit the young woman who filed the police report I think they bro broke her nose and broke her cheekbone as well police police did a great job of of responding people came by to assist this young woman um random random violence random violence also many Asians as well Chinese especially live in the downtown area including a lot of elderly um they're afraid they speak canones they call my office my office can speak canones and and and they speak with the elderly and they're afraid at night time they stay in Liz thank you for your important work for your leadership I've worked with you for almost eight years and respect you and the the team you had you have um we were at a comstat meeting maybe several months ago with with Rishi with the residents the the police commissioner was there talking about crime stats but there was a young woman also from your team did a tremendous job of um relaying some of the issues facing the public garden facing the Boston comment as well she mentioned that some and some performers or some theater people or some plays um were rescheduled because of public safety concerns or they had to be moved um from one location to another they had to be changed how can we work together on those types of public safety issues certainly we need more police that's something I've been advocating my entire life um but what else can we do as it relates to where you are from as a member of the um friends of the public Ard right and malaka sheeper was that woman and she just had to leave our senior Communications and Outreach officer I neglected to acknowledge her really important work she's doing um you know we believe that these Parks need to be welcoming to everybody one of our commitments this summer this past summer is to activate Brewer Plaza with you know a dozen and a half performers performances and bring diverse performances from of people from around the city community- based uh singing and dancing and and we had people from Chinatown people from East Boston coming to perform people at Berkeley College came several times and you know we talked to Maryann Ponte about this because Maryann as many of you know social work who been working on these in these parks and on the streets for for 10 years this is the first year that she has felt concerned about her safety we asked her about what we were experiencing because there are many of these events that were interrupted by people that were struggling it was clear that there's someone a woman that was uh in in uh distress and we we hired um security people to work with our our team to to support them they were not able to deal with this woman the park rangers were not able to deal with this women woman she actually took all her clothes off and got into the Brewer Fountain and and then the police had to come and finally you know encourage her to get back into her clothes and and get back into a wagon and get get some help but that's just putting a patch on a big problem I mean we just kept doing it Berkeley College finally realize that they didn't their students didn't feel safe so they didn't come back for the rest of their concerts so I think that you know as I said in my remarks it really isn't just and you and I have talked about this counselor it's not just adding more police although when there is police presence there's clearly a a response by the people that are that are dealing drugs and and creating Havoc down there they subdue are subdued they move elsewhere they know that the drill they know that they're not going to be there if there's a police presence but we can't have a police presence all the time and I've talked to Captain Martin about this when they arrest someone who has been you know had repeat offense and they are getting off the park there needs to be a staya away order and and Risha you mentioned the DA's office too I think Mike you mentioned as well we need a collective response the police the da several years ago we created a community um impact statement many people wrote Community impact statement somebody from the union Club a neighbor you know we had about six or eight Community impact statements that we wrote to the court saying these individual people do not feel safe and we're talking a a while ago this has been a lowlevel constant problem and until we get all of these players working together and committing themselves to that cyclical work that this person that has had repeat offenses cannot come back he has a staya away order and that is enforced we're just going to continue to have these conversations as you say Mike we're going to continue to come back and earnestly talk about the problem and not make progress so we we are there we're available we've worked with 24 groups over the many years that we' worked on these issues and and we all know that we want to have progress so we're we're committed to doing that work with you thank you Liz and I I just want to say thank you to the gentleman as well from Beacon Hill I was proud to represent Beacon Hill for seven years on the city council and represent part of I should say and I loved Beacon Hill I love spending a lot of time there working with the residents um I think this this meeting is important it's about listening to Residents as well I'm looking forward to the public testimony the residents Association had an important poll listening to the business Community as well many of the residents here have worked with me for eight years on these issues quality life issues public safety issues I love the down town area I have the Boston Common I spent my whole life and career in this area about the last thing I'm I'm doing is trying to fear Monger I'm trying to be honest and direct and sincere with people and come up with Solutions on how we improve it I'm not here to criticize anybody it's about working together and respecting each other thank you Mr chair thank you councelor Flynn councelor Murphy you have the floor thank you um and thank you Liz Mike RI Colin for your testimony it I think it's exactly what we needed to hear that you know you're speaking truth to What the residents the business owners those who are there as much as you are are saying you know the the little that I hear has been that things have really changed in the last year and you know so thank you for being honest and also what I heard from all of you and you said it specifically Rishi is like that challenge right that we have to collabor we have to work together and I believe you know we're the adults in the room and that means we have to talk about the good things that are going on you know in your role Mike you talk about the great things and you don't want to turn away business or you know tourists but you also have to speak the truth and sometimes that's not good facts right and there has been this message from the administration you know about being the safest city born and raised here raised my family here I like to know that where safe but it is about quality of life issues and if we're only using that metrics you know about homicide and rape and we're not talking about the issues that you all addressed that people are failing around this neighborhood they're changing the way they live based on changes to the safety in the neighborhood and that's what I'm hearing and as an atlarge city counselor and I know my colleagues work on these issues too since I've been here you know trying to uplift the voices of those who live near Clifford Park and Roxbury those who live in the south end I feel like you know you're echoing what those residents have been saying and often feel years have gone by and just because things may get better they know their lives aren't getting better so we do have to come up with a plan and you know when I heard that there was an increased presence of police you know it came after another counselor was asking for an increased presence of police in his neighborhood who does see the homicides and wasn't being able to get that so A one question and I know you guys can't answer it directly but is that like a false sense of hope right because how can we sustain that our Police Department is you know for years now has been in a crisis with Staffing and you know we want to hire more it's hard to even get people to want to be police officers so hoping to hear also that collaboration with the police and how do we sustain you know the equity across the city obviously downtown needs more of a presence but making sure that we're addressing those issues in all parts of the city and you know what plan do we have going forward so agree um one specific question and I know speaking to some of the colleges I'm not sure if any of them are here so I don't want to put words in their mouth but are you here okay um you know when you send your children off to college and many who go to the downtown colleges they don't live in the neighborhood so you know there you know there's always been a message message to college kids to be safe stay with the buddy but that the message they're sending is different now and to women and you know young girls like don't go for a run don't walk alone and maybe some people will say well that's just common sense but the fear and the you know the crime that is happening out there really is changing the way and I know parents are concerned for their kids which you know that that's sad to know that but we can't just say let's just you know be cheerleaders and then it goes away cuz that's not how it goes away it goes away by collaborating working together and all of you and I'm going to make an assumption that everyone in this room it's never about not wanting to care about those struggling with substance use and mental health something I've cared about my whole life and will forever but at the same time we have to worry about the quality of life of every resident every business owner and how do we get to a place like that and that means us on the council we have to work together I don't ever have to have arguments like Council of Santana about where my district line goes because I am an at large city councelor but even if I wasn't I would say you know as someone born and raised to generations of loving the city you know if you're in it for the right reason it doesn't matter what street you represent what neighborhood you represent we're here to Advocate to make sure that every city department is doing the best and the most they can and what can we do so I'm hoping through that challenge and that collaboration we come up with a plan and seeing you know I like to have a list of things to do I work better when someone you know tells me these are the things we need so I'm hoping from this and knowing that and I can't say this is the beginning of a conversation I started by saying that Council of Flynn has brought me together with many of you on you know meetings that he's organized on his own because he does he directly from the residents and is willing to have these conversations when things aren't going well and I'm a strong advocate for the Boston police everyone knows that but I also the first one to also push back and say well hey why are we not doing what we know we can we don't have to make new rules we don't have to file new ordinances like the situation at Atkin Street with the tentant camp and we already have laws on the books Let's enforce the laws we have and make sure the police have the tools that they need to do that but make going forward I think we have to work more collaboratively and listening more to you're the experts I'll end by saying one thing as a teacher for over 20 years you know no one ever really wanted to hear you know what the teachers thought it was always these people came in and told you how to do it better so I think it's great that this panel and this hearing thank you chair um for starting off with those who you know work and live in the neighborhood and know directly in in our uplifting I and like you said it's a survey you do there was a reason why people rushed to that survey I get lots of surveys and I scroll by but clearly they wanted their voices or they wanted people to know know that this is a real concern and when you at St Anthony's Shrine could they be more kind St Francis those people their whole mission is about caring for everyone and they're sharing their concerns that things are different and we need to do something and we don't want it to be a homicide or something before you know gets it shouldn't have to only be that that isn't where we need to put the line you know in the ground where the unless it's a rape unless it's a violent crime we should just say well we're safe because if people people don't feel safe than their lives and this came up with the BHA hearing we had recently about quality of life and elevator service like life isn't just about surviving life is about enjoying it and having fun and thank you to you know the downtown and the friends of the park and all of these neighborhood associations you work a lot and you care a lot and the neighbors care a lot about you know on in your downtime like enjoying the city enjoying the parks enjoying downtown so I do think we have to make it so that people do come back in and feel not just safe but are happy to be here and want to stay so thank you for all you do thank you councelor Murphy um councelor denen you have the floor thank you so much chair Santana um and this has been a very Illuminating hearing already um as the only city councelor that lives downtown in Beacon Hill I can tell you uh this issue couldn't be be more important to me I um this is my neighborhood um and when I walk across the Tremont Street line I don't think oh now I'm not in my district because our communities are so important our walkability as a city and how our city connects with each other and that connectivity is just so important to me I want to thank Colin zck um particularly uh the board president of the beacon Hall civic association for being here um Liz Visa we've worked together so much I know you're nearing retirement so I'm so grateful we uh we've gotten you right before um and we were getting to hear your wisdom right before uh you're off to your retirement which we've been really proud to have a chance to celebrate on a few different occasions um it's so important too that we talk about local businesses and local residents um and uh Rishi I know we haven't had the chance to really get to know each other much but appreciated your testimony uh there's a lot of really great stuff happening in the Boston comp there's been so much work um I'm on the Boston Common maintenance fund so I get the chance to look at the sewers and the sidewalks and the paving and all of that so getting a chance to think about both the people that are inhabiting the area the people that are hanging out in the common um and the way that everything makes everyone feel is so important so I think my first question is for you um Liz thank you so much for all of your leadership um because you've been here 15 years you have that U special quality that none of us have would you describe some of the issues that we've been facing in the Boston common as cyclical or would you describe them as decline or what what would be the way that you described sort of the evolution of the Boston Common yeah thank you counselor those are good qu as a good question you know as I said we have been working on this with the city for the 15 years I've been here and Beyond I mean it's there's always been a low level of drug use and drug dealing on the common and in downtown it's not that all of a sudden it's happening it wasn't happening when I talked about homeless feeding programs about 10 years ago we spent a year we convened with St Francis House St Anthony's Shrine Park Street uh Church St Paul's Cathedral Church of the Covenant and and feeding programs and other nonprofits that support the homeless and and struggling population of our city and we tried to make progress with that tried to get people to stop feeding the common yeah can you speak to that issue a little more like why that can be a harmful thing and how that sort of elongates people's willingness to find real help so what they're not doing is they're not going into St Francis House St Francis is an incredibly qualified and and you know comprehensive support place for people it's a day shelter where you go in there you can get some some things to to wear you can have a rest you can get some medical attention and you can get a window through it the opportunity for support systems maybe you can even find a place to live but just to have have someone from the suburbs just just say someone from out of the city to come in and think that they're saving Souls by feeding people in the common it it draws not only the homeless population but the drug dealers they come and prey on the people that are going to find that food and then those people are not going into the St Francis House of St Anthony's shrines other service providers that could actually again they're not just giving them food they're giving them an opportunity to find deeper support and the kind of care that they need you mentioned the the Long Island Bridge It's been a a crisis not having that bridge I mean we really need and even though the money that's going to go into that bridge will come out of the park budget and other budgets but I think that that is such an important thing for the city yeah and I just want to add that I don't think I've been able to say this on the record but new counselors did tour Long Island unfortunately Henry had a hearing he had to he had to run during the same time but all of the new counselors T Long Island and we know that it's going to take um billions of dollars to really to really get it and over 5 years to even get a permit for the bridge so these issues and all coming together and talking about them are so important but there's real opportunity there it's just going to take a lot of time yeah yeah and I'll say it is cyclical there were years when we could map where drug dealing was taking place it was when uh Bill Evans was commissioner we me and talked to him and showed him and we had had mattresses in the common we've had tents in the common so it's not that nothing is happening and something's happening now but there is an intensity of more violent out of control when Mar the Maran panties of the world and I depend on her I mean I've walked with her a lot in the city to understand what she's doing and how her perspective working with these people when she says she's concerned I get concerned thank you and um I think definitely my friends of the friends of the public garden know um and thank you Leslie Adam for being here as well the board chair um know that I had a meeting with the commissioner I think a lot of constituents were calling me about the concerns they had uh the park school was calling me a lot of different organizations were sort of asking what we could do and I called sort of I stomped my feet and said I need to meet with the commissioner this week and commissioner Cox opened up his schedule met with me for over an hour and a half um and I think what I really got out of that meeting was that um and and then two days before I talked to the mayor on the phone um and and sort of describe some of the things that were happening I met with um obviously our board president of the bhca I talked to him on the phone talked to Leslie Adam on the phone I had an entire week like in early uh a late September or sorry yeah late September early October of just really like constituents reaching out really an uptick um and I think this hearing is a very important um because what we're seeing I think when I look around I'm seeing a lot of downtown residents and I'm seeing how maybe some of the progress that we've made made in the common has not been made in the downtown area so just I while I have 46 seconds left um Mike if you could talk to and Mike is a district 8 resident so I'm grateful you're here um can you speak a little bit more to the streets that need activation and the areas that need foot traffic on the Boston Common I would I mean sorry in the downtown area and how maybe the city council and those that are connected with local business owners could help connect some of those spaces that need life to businesses that could support those spaces and create that activation that's needed sure any anyone that's interested in activating any part of downtown that wants to reach out to our organization can at downtown boston.org I think the area of uh Winter Street and trumont certainly I think is the epicenter of of much of of what we have struggled with over the last year and that has been sort of the primary focus of um our consideration of programming efforts that could try to dislodge or move move away from some of the negative behaviors that we've seen and just curious um do you all have a survey of what spaces are open and why they're open and sort of what and I know that there are definitely are some developers that own on bramfield and others that are not necessarily um that are just kind of waiting to develop areas that and I think that vacancy that exists in the downtown area um is detrimental I do want to share um this sucess of um I think Temple Records and somic and so many of these incredible businesses that are opening that a lot of my um District dat residents are eating it including me um and I think there's some excitement happening and I think I really did want to use this hearing just to say that um while we're dealing with a lot of issues like I'd like to see more of those success stories and how can we build on those and how can we support you um you know should I say director Nichols I don't know but like it's just I think you are such an important piece of this puzzle and often because of the way our district lines work we don't always allow for that collaboration to happen so I would love to meet with you about sort of some of those areas where I might be helpful and connecting local businesses to spaces that that need activation and need retail um because I know a lot of our district date and downtown residents are not getting their needs met with some of the sort of vacant spaces and I know that you're doing everything you can but would love to add um some ideas and some collaboration there sure I I'd say briefly you know we we'd certainly welcome that engagement um our our organization over the course of its its uh existence has predominantly until recently been focused on public spaces and outdoor public spaces in recent years we have started to focus on on the problem of vacant retail um and increasingly now vacant office space um bringing bringing activation to those spaces downtown um will will develop more more foot traffic more people to support small business more positive activity downtown anyone from anywhere that has an idea about what could support our downtown um our organization be willing to engage with them it is after all everyone's downtown that you know downtown has a has a vibrant um array of residents that live there but it's also the entire City's downtown it is where we come together it is literally Downtown Crossing um where our entire regional transit system was designed to bring people together and so we would welcome any good ideas on how to do that thank you so so much thank you so much chair thank you thank you councelor Durkin um I do have just one question before we go to we're going to take a break to go into public testimony I know we have a lot of residents here and I want to make sure um that we give them the time and I know my colleagues want to hear from from from the residents as well um R this is kind of just a general question and I really appreciated your um opening statement you you know you talked about um some of the hotpots um in the downtown and Boston common area um and I think you touched on you know being safe right and I think with the helpes with the different resources that we have and then feeling safe um and that difference for residents um again you're on the ground you're hearing from residents residents are hearing from you um in terms of that let's assume we have all the resources we have the police presence at you know um that feeling of feeling safe what do you think we as the city of Boston can do um to to get residents to trust that again right we I mean you talked about residents having to avoid certain areas um that's you know in their own neighborhood um that's not the way we want to be able to live and not just in downtown but in any neighborhood right um so can you just talk about again that that feeling of of actually being safe with the with the resources that we have but then also feeling safe um and what you're hearing from residents yeah thank you for the question counselor I look I think perception is in the eye of the person experiencing the issues right it's it's your life experiences it's how you think about the world around you you and where you are at any given moment in time and so if you've lived in a neighborhood for a long time and all of a sudden things are deteriorating and you feel like there's lawlessness there's not Law and Order you see folks getting away with criminal activity with no arrest no consequence they're back on the street within a few days you see people you know pillaging through CVS and Walgreens and things are locked up it doesn't feel like a safe place those things don't show up in any statistic unless you measure those things and so um where I you know have concern is when I keep hearing the same talking point from City Hall which is we're the safest city in the country we are but again you got to click in and understand the data that underlies that and what isn't included and so specifically counselor I think the perception is is reality for anybody who lives in a place 24/7 right your your experience is on the street in the park when you can't cross the the street safely cuz you feel like if you're elderly or you got a you know wheelchair you're in a stroller a biker might hit you cuz they're going the wrong way down the street and a crosswalk you're fearful right uh councelor Flynn you mentioned the Asian population we have great relations with Chinatown during Co when we had an increase in Asian hate crime in this country and in Boston as well we had plenty of Asian residents who would say to us hey I'm I'm fearful of going outside because I might get assaulted that's fear that's not going to show up in a statistic unless you measure it right and so the reality is law enforcement we have and I always say this whenever we have our colleagues from the Boston Police Department here it's hard to find a neighborhood that's more supportive of law enforcement than you will in A1 we we love the work that the Boston police does every single day on behalf of our neighborhood in Beacon Hill as well across the common and across the public garden there's no number of police officers that's going to cause you to feel safe if for a moment something happens or there's an incident or something caus you to feel unsafe and so we have to my advice is you know yes let's have more officers on the beach let's get out of our own way as a city let's restrict um you know ourselves from imposing age caps and things like that that cause us not to be able to recruit folks into professions uh within the city where we have challenges bringing bringing talent in so I think having more officers on the ground fantastic more folks on the beat it's great A1 does a great job Sergeant cross and his team being Community facing all the time and so many residents know our officers which is great good community policing but the erosion of trust and confidence happens when we don't have decisive action that's sustained uh again I think these hearings are great these meetings are terrific but what I hope we don't do is walk out of here and then have to do this again in six months no absolutely um I really appreciate that yep I was ask going to ask um we do have another panel um again we want we also have public testimony um so I just want to ask any of my colleagues who are with us right now including the lead sponsor if they have any final questions for for this panel right now uh this will be your time um do you have one call thank you Mr chair I'd rather go directly to testimony from the public but um thank you all right do you have thank you it was a great panel to start with and looking forward to the public testimony thank you thank you do you have one coun yes thank you so much chair I just want Rishi I wanted to ask you I sorry I ran out of time but um just curious about sort of the office terzi program and I know a lot of um what we're dealing with um in Downtown Crossing is related to really office uh not being as utilized especially Class B just not being um as utilized and I was just curious sort of your thoughts on the office tesi program and I know there's some stuff coming to Franklin Street and I'm a big supporter of that program so I'm just curious how um what you see as like sort of the future and I think Mike Nichols if you'd like to respond to that as well but like what you all see as the future for both bringing people back downtown but also um how we can use those spaces differently yeah Cal der great great question thank you I think um anything we can do to increase housing in Boston is is welcome I think reality though is it's going to take time to convert things to residential uh I also think the infrastructure matters right so if you're moving to downtown Boston and you don't have reliable public transportation or you can't afford parking or things that cause you to not be able to live here that that's not going to help the issue and so we have to figure out holistically how do we make housing more affordable how do we get more of it how do we ensure that we have better transportation both public and otherwise how do we make sure our streets are safe for everybody the total package matters here and I think getting people back to work is contingent upon us having Public Safety solved um I I go back to what I said earlier which is Public Safety underpins everything and without it it's going to be really hard to encourage anyone to want to move into a neighborhood if they don't feel like they have their safety you know protected and so um it's it's complicated that that's the bottom line but I'd love to see more of the conversions happen if we could accelerate it that'd be great I'd love to see City Hall bring more folks back to work I'd love to see our businesses bring more folks back to work the trickle down econ economics there are are obvious um and so I think our business would benefit from and the city would certainly benefit as well i' Echo REI I think I think the office residential program is something that we fully supported we we look um forward to having more of our owners explore that uh now extended program program uh to see if it's possible to bring more residents downtown and and then the issue of just bringing more people downtown generally is the one that we spend the most time thinking about each day um and and to your question uh colleagues of ours in Philadelphia did a national survey of the return to office rate and the number one factor that most uh closely correlated with the frequency with which people were returning to their offices was how close they live to that office so if we were able to house more people closer to our our job centers like downtown crossing and the financial district I think we'd see a higher rate of return to the benefit of all of our businesses especially our small business awesome thank you um I really want to appreciate our panelists um for being here today and answering our questions um and for the work that you all individually do um on this issue and on behalf of of of of the downtown neighborhood the Boston Common neighborhood but also the city of Boston so really appreciate that um I'm now going to go we're going to take four um public testimony um out of order here um as we're transitioning between panels um so you guys want to thank our our panelist right now um and then we're going to go with um John Parker um and please excuse me if I Mis pronounce your name um Sabel Bas um slavco Ming and Susanne CLA there are two microphones in the back of the chamber right here if you can get if those four people can come down um we will give you 2 minutes for your public testimony um please state your name and your organization um our neighborhood um and then um we will move forward um with that thank you so much you have two minutes um my name is John Parker and I live at One Franklin please make sure to um speak into the mic I don't they they're kind of so we can all hear you my name is John Parker I live at One Franklin Street downtown um I walk at my dog three times a day down Washington Street up winter across Tremont P past the Brewer uh fountain and into the common now 10:00 in the morning there's 20 people loitering at breu Fountain 2:00 in the afternoon there's maybe 60 they're just loitering and you should see the mess they make it's unbelievable then at 8 or 9:00 there's another 30 people the same people probably just hanging around Brewer Fountain so I've been in in contact with Mr Flynn a number of occasions and Mir ously over the last four days I was in the Commons uh last week in the middle of the week and I saw eight police officers walked through Brewer Fountain okay I was uh in the Commons today a number of times and there was there was nobody at the fountain there was absolutely nobody in the fountain there was they're still coming a little bit down Winter Street and a little bit both sides on trem on but there was nobody at the fountain and my question is how can we maintain that thank you thank you Mr Parker um seil Bas we're a little out of order I'm Susan Claire thank you uh Susan CLA I've been in the neighborhood I wor from the late 90s where I was working and I've been a resident since 2002 um my issue is more the on the terms of feeling safe is the transportation I guess about five years ago um a provision was made for bike lanes and I feel that the um the increase in the mopeds and the bikes going in the wrong direction Running Red Lights running red lights and then making illegal left turns it's it's it's frightening and I really would love to see the Department of Transportation take a very serious look at uh addressing that issue thank you thank you so much Susan um all right um next up we have solid Ana Mohamad jallo Catherine Kennedy I'm sorry if I'm in pronounce mispronouncing names um please say your name and then um you'll have two minutes yeah thank you uh good afternoon everybody and um thank you for the opportunity for having us here today uh my name is Muhammad jalo I'm the director of security at ww Boston I'm here today with uh Jill and Bill um our general manager for the courtyard um so the area where where we are it's 500 ft away from the Boston Common which is the moxis the hotel and um few other theaters uh the issue we have in there every night is vehicular traffic and um the combination of intoxicated patrons heavy food traffic and um dangerous vehicle driving there's a frequent fire pretty much from Thursday through Saturday every Thursday Friday and Saturday night um there's fights that are going on Boston polies there so before the pandemic um around 2019 2020 Boston police used to block the intersection between the St and ton Street to stop all vehicular traffic um to reduce um accident in their area and try to Corp the noise because now we're having patrons driving down there um stopping their vehicles and play very very loud music which in turn create a problems for our resident and hotel guest every day so we asking for them to go back um to reinstate that pandemic pre pandemic traffic block that can help us this this will enhance the public safety by reducing risk of accidents and altercation and it can improve our guest experience in residents and tourist uh New England School of Law which is right next to us are also suffering the same issues and um they sent us constant emails uh to come here today and talk to the team so hopefully that will be like a win-win for every one of us so the solution for us is we want this to to promote a safety without dampening the vibrant night life that finds the area um this area is the most busy area in the city of Boston um we are surrounded by at least six to seven nightclubs in that area there so um block indust street that night just that we used to do before pandemic that will help us big time so thank you so much thank you next up to call three names and if you're here oh y please say your name sure and we will give you to uh my name is Catherine Kennedy okay um and I also have extra copies that I was asked to bring if you guys would like those all right thank you um so I'm going to read a short letter to whom it may concern size three diapers extra wipes an extra onesie and a Sharps container that's what I get to carry in my diaper bag my name's cine and I live in Beacon The Beacon Hill Neighborhood and have for over a decade I have two small children ages five and ages 7 months and I pass discarded needles regularly as I walk my 5-year-old to her public school every day my oldest started prek on September 9th this morning I decided to glance over some of my 311 reports reminder September 9th first day of school I have a needle pickup reports from September 30th October 7th October 9th October 11th October 12th and October 15th that's just the first month of my daughter going to public school I accept that raising a family in the city is complicated I accept trash cigarette butts nip bottles and even broken glass but this is unacceptable having to keep needles away from my kids as I walk them to preschool is unacceptable in the 10 years that I've lived here I have never seen Beacon Hill in downtown neighborhoods in Boston this overrun with drug paraphernalia or folks in crisis Boston and the surrounding region is not doing enough to actually disrupt the cycle of a ition that has led to this crisis we keep moving the problem instead of solving it and we need actual Solutions the heart of this crisis is not about just housing at its heart it's around Behavioral Health and vulnerable people I feel that folks who are strug I feel for the folks who are struggling with addiction I truly do they are victims they need a solution which separates drug dealers from drug users and we need a solution that Str Ates drug use and folks in the hose of Behavioral Behavioral Health crisis from average citizens including children and the elderly we are faing our most vulnerable we need a solution that puts Safety First and our current course is unacceptable and is currently failing everyone thank you thank you Katherine for for coming and joining us today um all right so we're going to go with our second panel and then we're going to continue with public testimony after this round of questions so at this time I'd like to provide an overview of the panelists the committee invited to testify on behalf of the administration um if you can all if you're here and present if you can just all calm down um and stay here with us um we have invited Lisa mayor the interm commissioner for the Department of Parks and Recreation we have um Captain Sean Martin um District Commander for A1 for the Boston Police Department Sergeant Zachary Crossen Community Service Officer of A1 with the Boston Police Department Kelly young director of the coordinated response team and then Deputy superintendent Dan Humphries um assistant chief Bureau of field services and Boston Police Department um for the panelists who are here with us today I like again for you to come down sit down with us here and then um state your name title for the record and once everyone has introduced himself um we will move forward with opening statements so um thank you so much good afternoon Deputy superintendent Dan humph I'm the assistant bureau chief of field services for the Boston Police Department yeah thank you you're here a lot thank you it's my pleasure thank you uh good afternoon council is Steve Bricker and Deputy Commissioner Parx city of Boston uh here in uh instead of Liza Meer today okay um so you're here representing the department of parks of recreation great can you describe your name again Steve bickerton Steve bickerton okay thank you thank you for being here um with that I I'll hand it over right back to you if you have any opening statements or remarks um that you all want to say and then we'll um we'll go a round of um we'll pass it over to the council colleagues here um for a round of questions sure no it's always uh my pleasure to be here on behalf of the commissioner um the Boston Police Department is in the middle of a very deliberate pivot um to address exactly what we're here talking about today um um so there's a lot of things that are uh uh happening across the city and some of them come back to the decampment of mass and cast so we're dealing with the displacement and overflow we're reorganizing to support the coordinat response teams in our response to the pockets uh of overflow throughout the city not only downtown but in areas like Nubian Square in Roxberry matapan square has seen activity Andrew Square in South Boston um so the commission the Boston Police Commissioner is hearing what people are saying we are doing a very intentional redeployment of officers into these areas of community concerns and what we are doing is is we're endeavoring to significantly increase our visibility and put the same effort that we put into reducing our violent crime and victimization rates into addressing quality of life issues specifically addressed at the the fear of crime that people are feeling and it's very intentional department-wide program that we're in the middle of a giant pivot on to put officers on foot in these areas increasing visibility for the uh the very deliberate intent to address these quality of life issues and also make people feel safe in their neighborhoods great thank you see if you have anything thank you um thanks for the opportunity to be here councilors um we're at parks we're we're very aware of the issues that exist uh both in the common the public garden and as well as many of the parks around the city uh as a result of of the opot epidemic and Associated mental health issues and and that type of thing uh our role at the Parx Department uh is you know unfortunately we don't really have uh enforcement capabilities we do lean on BPD and others for uh for the enforcement capability uh we're very grateful for their partnership very grateful for their responsiveness across the city uh our role is generally to um to keep the par as clean as possible so uh when our staff identifies an encampment or some uh person in crisis or um or paraphernalia left behind our staff identifies that we then alert either the shops team uh the coordinated response team or BPD uh for help to either Mo move the uh the individuals along or uh remove the uh dangerous paraphernalia and then our our staff comes in afterwards to clean up any debris left behind so our staff is generally you know a maintenance and and uh and cleaning excuse me cleaning crew more than more than an enforcement crew uh however we're very tuned to the quality of life issues uh completely understand what uh the panel before us uh testify to uh sympathetic to those issues and and we'll continue to work closely with the CRT and BPD to to remedy them as quickly as possible great thank you so much appreciate you both being here with that we're going to go over to the lead sponsor with his first round of um questions and then we'll go along um councelor Flynn you have the floor thank you Mr chair and to Deputy superintendent Humphries I've had the opportunity to work work with you for many years and respect the work that you and the men and women of the police department are doing along with Steve as well an outstanding and dedicated City employee member of the pox team they play a critical role in the Boston Boston Common Steve let me ask you a question at one time the Boston Park ranges they do a tremendous job they work closely with the Boston police um with the tourist industry as well at one time they did have more Authority including arrest power and when they had that arrest power they were more effective in in my opinion other people will disagree but I've seen them up front they did a ter terrific job when they had the power to make arrest they used they used it very cautiously but they did a tremendous job they were professional that is that is impacted Public Safety hasn't it uh I I couldn't agree with you more our Park ranges are are are dead dedicated and uh they're great employees they work very hard uh it is a challenge that they uh that they lost uh the power the police powers that were uh that they had under the 400a rule um for those that don't know the 400a rule allowed them to go through a certain amount of training with Boston police and uh be designated as special police so they had arrest Powers um since 2021 uh with the creation of the of the post commission uh and uh some changing of the laws around police certification uh they as well as some other city um city law enforcement uh agencies smaller law enforcement agencies lost their police Powers uh they do have the ability to write uh civil citations and they do have the ability to uh to do parking enforcement um and they can also obviously engage with folks and educate them about uh about Parks ordinances and that type of thing but they they did lose their uh they did lose their arrest Powers that's correct um I think uh still the Rangers work very hard they they do a lot of walk and talks a lot of face- Toof face engagement in the common and uh in other parks and and in the event that that they do encounter a problematic person or a person in crisis then uh then they do call BPD and BPD is always extremely responsive to them we appreciate that very much thank you Steve and I I I do know they Park Rangers even without those arrest Powers they do a tremendous job in the public garden in the Boston Common want to acknowledge the men and women of the parks department as well that clean the park every day I love talking to them they work hard they dedicated the professional maybe it's a something for the city council to review on how we could possibly get the police power back for the park ranger they do an incredible job I think it's it's worth it for us to pursue how we're able to get the police uh restore the police arrest powers back to the park rangers um thank thank you Steve and and on to Dan and to deputy superintendent Deputy superintendent we also have seen many people from the mass and cast area come from that area pushed into the downtown area into the Boston Comm and I represent the public library as well over towards Copley I represent Chinatown um are we seeing that type of organized criminal activity we seen that organized drug dealing activity in and around the Boston Common or is it users that are selling drugs that's that's one thing but when we have people that are that are selling it for a profit in praying on vulnerable that's that's another thing including and I've talked to the Boston Police Department including human trafficking taking place in the Boston Common so want to say thank you to the men and women of the Boston police I work with A1 almost every day whether it's in Chinatown or in the downtown area what what what are you what are your thoughts in Boston Comm and superintendent well I think we see there's a lot a lot of things going on there I think like some of the public comments there's always been a certain amount of activity that's taken place there with the decampment at massen Cass and we all knew what went on down there I mean it Humanity wept for what was going on down there that the encampment had to be dis places you know 140 residents active human trafficking there it had to go one of the problems is there's uh the power of fentanyl you know people have to get high like five times a day it just takes you over um so the victim you know the victimization is so difficult when somebody is in the grips of that to break them out of it so there will be drug dealers that prey on that and like you said there are people that are active users that the drug dealers will use to put into these hotpots because it's risky for them to go in there so they get they give you drugs and give you the rest to go sell and they're using people that are users it's like a double victimization so it's a very complex um you know criminal investigation to get to follow that up the chain to get to the the hireup person I I can say that with the pivot on how we have displaced a lot of mass and cast it the the congregate drug use that we were seeing there would became a barrier to outreach it was no longer safe for individuals to go in there recovery coaches um um you know Street you know basic housing Advocates all of the above by displacing it into smaller Pockets it allows us to get in get resources in on a more one-on-one more individualized case management obviously that's going to displace some of that activity into places where we didn't see it before like I said immediately we saw um activity in Nubian Square Andrew Square um the south end and that's what has led us to listening to what people are saying and saying this is where the problem the commissioner is very clear he's like we don't need to guess where the problem is people are telling us right this is where we're going to put people and it's an all Hands-On deck of approach as far as visible presence drug investigations we're looking at another thing that has come up here as a very deliberate analysis of where we're getting 311 complaints or Community complaints about needs for traffic enforcement something that we haven't heard for a while there was a time where people wanted us to back off and now we are hearing clearly the pain swinging the other way every community meeting we go to even Community CAD we had the pleasure to see you out the other night the community is saying we want traffic we don't have to guess where we need to put traffic enforcement the community is telling us so not only addressing quality life issues as it relates to things like the commons drug dealing assisting the homeless and stuff but also bringing back a feeling of safety that the deployment that we had of for the scooters and stuff like that over the summer and into the fall we saw immediate feedback on that compliance through the roof like almost an immediate change but it took enforcement that took a lot of work to do that right well thank you deputy and that was an issue I focused on over the summer working with the Back Bay and South End residents is the the scoas the Rishi described the downtown area at times like the wild west and what I what I believe in is we have to enforce the law on the books zero tolerance but we also need the support of the district attorney in our criminal justice system when someone commits a crime and is found guilty they should be sentenced to either jail or prison we can't have people back out on the streets praying on people residents pay high property taxes they paid huge money for their condo sometimes they send their children to private schools they expect and deserve a good quality life for them and their family and the the areas you mentioned Deputy where we have a lot of drug trafficking they're also in my district I live near andw Square near the South End the downtown area um but we do need more police presence on the street we need to hire more police we can't cut the police budget like we tried to in the past and I think we have to have a criminal justice system that respects victims and residents is also a critical part of it thank you Mr chair thank you councelor Flynn councelor mury you have the floor thank you chair um Ed took my question Steve or I was going to highlight I know we talked about that about the park ranges abilities now so those have been stripped but I saw a few of them last night at the trellis lighting and anytime you know down at Christopher Columbus Park but they do do a great job but in a time when we have such a hard um you know time trying to get police and get the staffings up it may be something we should revisit and don't I sorry I'm sorry to interrupt you don't get me wrong I I still think that uh you know having our our park range unit is still extremely beneficial just just their presence alone in the Parks uh serving his eyes and ears serving his Goodwill ambassadors and also you know friendly face to uh to tourists and visitors that that uh you know they they they don't know how to get to the USS Constitution or find their way to the freedom Trail um you know the the park ranges still very much Ser serve a purpose even with that um with those Powers Absol um are there Staffing or issues because I know when there was you know I'll cry and say Clifford Park and then we we found ways to you know have more of a presence do more cleanups are you seeing that there is a need and then a staffing need attach where you're having to pull resources to address some of these issues that seem to have gotten worse over the last year so in the ranger division or maybe or no just in the Parks the you know the two parks there sure I think uh you know like like like a lot of City departments we definitely have Staffing challenges especially some of our lower paid positions uh Park laborers and uh and mechanical equipment operator laborers uh we definitely have Staffing challenges and high turnover uh just due to the due to the the lower pay and uh you know folks come in come in those jobs and then they you know they want to move up and and make more money um so um you know could we could we use more uh more main staff I'll never turn down maintenance staff I'll never turn down Ranger positions of course we we'd always be happy to uh to staff up with those uh we're extremely extremely grateful you mentioned uh Clifford Park uh to the partnership with the new market bid uh Sue salvin and Carol Costello in their group uh their partnership has been absolutely invaluable they uh they focus on that area they focus on Clifford Park their staff is out there uh supporting our staff with cleanups you know our Roxbury team um they they're in uh dozens of par every day so you know they can only dedicate so much time to each individual Park obviously a park like Clifford Demands a lot more attention than than others uh so we're extremely grateful um to uh to Sue and her her group for for their support there thank you um shair was there a reason why Kelly young or the coordinated response team did not attend yeah I I actually don't no counselor um but we will if there's any questions that any of my colleagues have happy to send it over to them CU I know from just the work down at Atkin street that long before the tents came down there were Advocates and nonprofits and you know employees but also city employees Public Health employees who were pulling out and no longer going down there for their own safety and I know speaking to Mary and Ponte directly but it was said by many of the previous um panelists that you know someone like her in this area now too is fearful for her safety so it definitely seems like we're at a different level here people who are very accustom and comfortable and have the tools and the skills to work with you know this population that is you know needs people to be there failings for their own safety so I think it would be helpful and you did mention that this um commissioner you know kind of has a new plan could you be specific on any of the Chang that he's hoping to implement to see some good change sure the gentleman who walked his dog like I'm sorry I didn't cat your name he saw exactly what is happening so that with the uh there's a community interaction groups in certain districts and downtown is one of them where we are taking a group of officers and your job is to in a group get out on foot in areas of community complaints real simple and that ties to calling 311 and 911 right so that we have the data so just another U you know reminder to the public that you know definitely don't think anything is too small because that's where you would send those resources based on the calls that are coming in correct yes and interestingly we are directing our officers when you see something that is not a Boston police a gency MH that we're directing our officers to put in 311 complaints for things as well so if there's needles in the park or a broken street light overflowing trash can they are to put that in as well so it increases the message traffic and they cut the line and so that concern gets addressed immediately by another city agency that's that's good to know um I I have no other question just thank you for all you do and I think it definitely is going to you know need to be this partnership going forward thank you thank you chair thank you councelor Murphy um councelor Durkin you have the floor thank you so much um and Deputy superintendent Steve so great to see you um I'm really grateful for both of your leadership I think parks and police are definitely um when I think about what uh my constituents asked me for the most it's talking to you all and and figuring out solutions that work for them um so just want um Deputy superintendent humph I know that uh you were part of uh part of the meeting that I had with commissioner Cox on October 4th and just wanted to ask sort of what conversations leading up to that and sort of what sort of um conversations had been happening with the police department especially in September and October uh to lead to sort of this new strategy especially around the Brewer Fountain area and I just wanted to also ask a little bit more about the cadet and training program I know some of those officers or Cadets were at my um official Thanksgiving dinner last night and I'm really supportive of that program but just want to know a little bit more about how they might be utilized in this respect sure sure yeah so um you know as it relates to just kind of the overall issue of just the homelessness substance F folks on the street substance abuse crisis Mental Health crisis and all of the complexities of that and we've been so hyper focused on um theas and Cass right so it was like the big red spot on the map right lot of real heavy resources coordination I mean if you look back on um what went into that and you know the ordinance I I think the ordinance was a very critical part of it because it gave finality proud to support it well thank you ma'am you know but I look it I mean there was a lot of conversation that went into that there was a lot of people that were worried the cops are going to run out around arrest everybody ripping tents down like we didn't touch a single tent we haven't arrested a single person but what it does is in that interaction it gives finality these are your options this or that before it was a 48 hour notice period and all but anyways a lot of effort has been put into that and one of the things that we have to do is take a big step back from that and now at the whole city and look at how this is affecting other places of the city and a number of things are going on with the the number the crime stats and all this other stuff and just Blain putting in that meeting I can to anybody's listening you were an advocate for your District I can tell you I was there for a lot of it and you were very um like I said very you were advocating for everybody and the commissioner is hearing people about the fear of crime issue and quality of life and what he's made very clear is look at I'm not worried about the numbers Personnel shortage this that and the other thing we're doing this we're going to change fundamentally how we are deploying our officers right and not to go off on a wild tangent but this is going to affect recruiting the strongest recruiting tool we have is an individual officer interacting with a member of the public on the street because all of us before we became police officers met a police officer and that and my sister was one so that's partly why I'm such an advocate that had effect on us and that's why we became police officers so there's so much going on here but it's about making the community feel safe it's about getting officers out on the street with interacting with members of the public making a rest we appropriate all of these things it's going to make people feel safe it's going to increase our you know positive interaction with the public it's going to result in increased recruiting efforts like all of the above but the commissioner in these conversations has been listening to what people are saying and we are adjusting in areas that that we've done this we have gotten immedia fee but we see clear Bowden in Geneva when the officers get in their Vans to drive away it's almost like they want to tie a chain to it and you know what I mean 16 hours a day and we have multiple and it's it's um Community interaction teams that's that's what the CIT stands for they might change the name on it where we are deploying these we are seeing immediate positive feedback so we're we might be at step two of a 20 step progress process of where this ends up because like the gentleman says how do we make this basically happen forever and that's what the commissioner this is the beginning he wants increased visibility officers out of their cars in the community in areas of community concerns interacting with the public interacting with the folks that need interaction right addressing quality of life issues there's going to be a rest it's not always you know roses no it and it really is music to our ears because I think when we think about um how people need to interact it's like I think being in a car is a little bit different than being like on the pavement and I do appreciate like every bit of car interactions that people have as well but I think being um I think that Boston is a leader on community policing um we have I mean we have the term Boston's Finest for a reason and I think they're doing an incredible job um at the Boston Common I've heard from residents that um they don't feel they they feel that the police department is using its resources right now in the right way and that's why I think it's really important that we um make sure that that is spread all over A1 because it does feel like when we heard from residents here today that there are some areas that they feel like need a little TLC so I do appreciate the opportunity to be here today and to hear from residents about this sort of broader context and um I did just want to add my support it was great to hear from my colleagues that they support the Boston mounted Park Rangers I love them um love their board chair Alex lenthal grateful for all of his work I should have worn my pin today um but I think um we're dealing dealing with an environment in a jurisdictional environment where we can't control every bit of um of the way the state interacts and um so I I know we can't fix that at this level of them having special police powers and I know the BHA has done with has dealt with that as well um but I I just want to say I'm really grateful to the commissioner and the mayor for stepping forward at this time and figuring out I know it's constantly in terms of the police uh conversation about you know when they are protest often that's when sort of things get pulled off their regular beat to handle certain other things that are happening and I do trust the police department to try to make those decisions of like where we need activity and where and you know where and when we need activity um I really appreciate um just want to add um I appreciated there was a time when sort of the gang unit was involved and in the com and it's great to hear about the CIT program and I really I'm not you know I didn't do special operations for the police department so I really do Deputy superintendant like trust your and others judgment about how and when but I do think it's important that when we have the ability to we advocate for our communities and what they're asking for um and so grateful for your leadership and the commissioner and um and I think this conversation is really important thank you thank you counselor Durkin I have um just a few follow-up questions thank you to my colleagues for amazing questions um Steve you know I think we heard from a public testimony earlier about um you know some of the needles that we're seeing um and on the ground um walking around downtown Boston the Boston Common um you and your opening statement talked about the parks department um their role being mostly of a u maintaining on the parks um can you speak to what you do with um what your department does with needle pickup um and you know how often um and can you can you speak to any of that sure uh I I would say that our staff in in one park or another we do we encounter needles daily um not always in the common not always uh in the downtown Parks but um you know not not infrequently uh our staff uh do have uh shops containers that they they have with them in their vehicles uh however if they come across a a lodge or encampment where they may be um other biohazards uh you know at the site then uh then we we work with um with an outside contractor that is specialized in uh in cleaning up those type of those type of sites uh safely as well uh so that's uh so so their uh sop um is to um if they find an encampment or find find a site if there's you know if there's a one or two needles then our staff can can put on their gloves and and use the shops container to pick them up however if it's a lodger encampment then they will alert myself I work daily with the uh with the CRT I sit on the on the CRT uh in that morning call so so typically uh I'll get a call from our maintenance staff at maybe 7:30 or 8: in the morning that uh you know we found an encampment or or there's uh gez there's a lot of needles at a certain site can can we please have uh CRT and the shops team come in to to pick that up uh so that's that's typically the the way things go great no thank you um and then I I think I definitely want to give a shout out to the Rangers um the park rangers um and you know I think to my earlier question about being safe and feeling safe I know I've heard from uh many people about um you know the park rangers Presence at least makes them feel more safe that doesn't necessarily mean they are safe but um I think both of them are important and and shout out to to all our park rangers um awesome you want to do a second round of questions um councelor Flynn do you have you have the floor thank you Mr chair and thank you to Steve and to Dan as well uh Deputy one of the areas where is of concern to me as well is ac across right here City Hall Plaza and the area across the street from the New England Center for veterans on uh on Court Street a lot of violence a lot of drug dealing activity taking place in both areas years ago I used to like talking to the veterans that would sit on the MBTA stoop there um because I tried to give them some encouragement over the years and and they were in a great facility but now the veterans don't sit around there because the drug activity is so obvious a lot of the veterans from Court Street don't sit across the the the area too from the the center because of the ongoing drug dealing activity in violence in violence over the last several months talk about those two specific areas and I've have conversations with A1 as well and um they they they are working on it but tell us tell us what your thoughts are yeah I think that these are exactly what we're talking about these locations where we have this type of activity complaints from the residents of the veteran shelter and stuff like that this is a perfect spot to layer in these high visibility patrols that we're talking about um and address those criminal the criminal activity that's taking place there and have a very visible presence um so people can feel safe I mean City Hall Plaza is also a place that people come visit just like the comment um and it's a cut through to go to Fel Hall and all the above um so it's not only the individuals that are relaxing on the stoop or whatever it's people coming and going from the subway station so this is a perfect location to layer in those visibility uh patrols thanks thank you Deputy I I don't have any further questions um just want to say thank you I did hear from a lot of Beacon Hill residents about uh those particular areas so thank you to the uh men and women of A1 yes sir thank you thank you councelor Flynn councelor Murphy no more questions just thank you great thank you councelor Murphy councelor D do you have any final question yeah I just wanted to say um I I really kept everything I said um at this hearing in regards to the docket um but I do have an oped coming out tomorrow about all I want for Christmas is scooters off our sidewalk so I just want to thank everyone uh that has testified or emailed About Scooters um and mopeds um I think those issues are particularly important and I I do think there's an element of uh Public Safety and feeling safe means feeling safe walking around in in every single way and I just want to thank Deputy superintendent humph for all of his work on um and and also uh Chief Franklin hodj who I know we were in a small group um with immigrant advancement and the police to to start that um sort of impounding of on licensed and unregistered um uh moped so I appreciate all the work that's been done on that issue uh and just want to thank uh again both of you for being here thank you counselor Durkin um with that uh that concludes um our round of questions with our panelists um really appreciate both of you being here um and answering our questions we are going to move forward with public testimony um you're both welcome to stay um either there or in the chamber as well um but really appreciate um both of you being here um with that we are going to call public testimony um unfortunately I I do have another commitment that I am going to have to go to um I I have class folks and I'm over at suffk um and I you know I want to be late so I am going to pass it over to the lead sponsor um of and the District counselor um I'm counselor Flynn um to continue um this hearing um but by no means is that um uh you know I really care about this issue I really care about um this neighborhood and I really care about supporting our district counselors and our residents um in in in public safety so um with that thank you so much I'll pass it over to councelor Flynn um to continue with public testimony thank you thank you Mr chair and thank you for the important work that you are doing also Mr chair thank you for coordinating and working with me on this meeting it was very helpful your team was your team was very professional I'm going to call some residents that are here um to provide public testimony I do apologize if I get any order um inaccurate but I am here we do want to make sure everybody has the opportunity to weigh in in no particular order and when I call your name if you could come down Brett leave Ryan St Marie okay is there Brian harber here as well is there Daniel urel I'm sorry yep David D David why don't you go now okay sounds good welcome thank you uh my name is David urel I live at One Franklin Street I've lived in Boston since uh uh 1994 with the exception of about seven years in the Middle where I couldn't afford it uh I love Boston I love New England I'm a huge booster of the city and I'm terrified of what's happening in downtown I've lived in the downtown crossing area for the better part of uh since essentially since about uh wait 200 2008 so a fairly long period of time and I'm I remember walking past the uh the V a real estate ditch which is now Millennium Tower uh I remember the challenges back then but in the last year things have really started to deteriorate and it's taken on an ER of lawlessness I think um uh the survey really kind of captured what's going on very little is actually being documented in terms of the problems that exist I'm going to share three experiences that I've had in the last nine months indirectly through a friend visiting me and through my partner who happens to be here Shannon uh my college roommate was visiting he lives in the South End he's been a resident of the city since 1991 uh he left my place at about 10 p.m. went up Winter Street and was robbed robbed of his backpack with his with his gear in it he's a fit 6'4 person he chased a kid went around a corner and was met with five other kids and he gave up on his backpack at that point that incident was reported to the police uh the other one with my partner uh coming down bronfield I think I'm going to guess at the time of night it wasn't late at night it was in the evening was met by somebody masturbating in a doorway that's pretty scary stuff that doesn't get reported to the police uh recently 3 weeks ago she came home probably 7:30 at night had been walking from uh uh the Avery Street back to one Franklin down Washington it's a fairly busy time of the evening and somebody approached her and followed her for a block put their arm around her and you know she's a little 5 foot4 person uh breaks my heart that she has to deal with that it doesn't get reported to the police if anybody here has ever been to the Boston Police Department to report a CRI by the way which is right over here on the other side of this building you'll know it's not it's not very welcoming it's not convenient and it doesn't really have a a feel that anything's going to get addressed I would love to see a Boston auxiliary post somewhere on the common there at the corner of Winter Street in Tremont I think we had that in the past maybe uh I think something like that might actually make police more visible and more accessible to uh to the public I want to appreciate all the people that have come out here today it's great to see the associations the neighborhood associations because they bring us together to have this conversation that really has to be had and on the scooters I think we need some language to Define which groups we're talking about we've got the wheelie wheelie scooters in the summertime which are scary and dangerous because they're going to knock somebody over and give them a TBI uh We've also got the electric scooters on the sidewalks and then we've got the food delivery guys that run every which way all day long um but thank you thank you sir that's my rant no thank you I'm going to go to um virtual testimony is Brett or Ryan available to testify yes is that Brett this is Ryan oh hey Ryan how you doing hi councelor Flynn uh first I want to thank you for bringing this meeting together um as you said my name is Ryan St Marie I represent the one Charles Association um who brought some of these concerns uh to um your attention and to other counselor and City officials attention in the past um I want to Echo the concerns that you brought forth uh prior um and outlining these safety concerns I personally walked through Boston Common um recently and I just find it more and more concerning especially around Boston so it's good to see that we're finally focusing on it and uh doing some action um not to discredit all the work that's been done before it's it's reassuring that see that we are still among the safest uh cities in the country but I think we do need to to work forward and uh maintain that status and do whatever we can to to maintain that status um I know that's you know we've had residents of our cond condominium that have been victims of uh crimes in the Boston Common so I think it's really something we need to address and find ways that we can forward and put some some ideas into action um and I also Echo some of the concerns regarding the uh the motorists around that's one of the concerns that is brought to my attention quite frequently is motorists uh the Uber drivers um the delivery people that are just uh constantly going around the streets so to address that and put in some safety laws and follow them so thank you thank you Ryan thanks for being here Brett you're up next Brett's not there okay is Ally Foley there please yes I am hi Allie good good afternoon thank you very much um councelor ID Flynn I just wanted to um just give a couple remarks and uh maybe share a little bit of empowerment to the community um I was I I I received an inbound email back in September with a mother was walking through the bureau Fountain and had experienced um these these experiences that we're talking about today and I want to thank Ed because I I didn't know what to do with that I live in Back Bay and I volunteer helping out with the block Captain program over here and it's great when I get inbound emails and then be able to triage them to the correct people and I can't commend enough to you Ed for taking the leadership on this um it has been very re assuring to The Back Bay Community to hear your responsiveness and elevating the concern I also want to push back to the community and let them know to get more involved in their civic associations um and you know look at ways that the community can make this um a more topic conversation and making sure that you know your legislators your local community Representatives know that this is intolerable that we will not stand for this and we deserve better so I just wanted to put some remarks out there um you know we we're doing pretty well on a block Capon program here in Back Bay I encourage other communities to get involved and be able to be the liaison to your residents to reach out to to then triage these important calls and experiences thank you thank you Alie for being with us Yousef are you on yes sir hello thank you for having me tonight it's good to be with you Yousef hello yeah good to see you youf we uh sorry we we cut out for a couple seconds no problem thank you for having me thank you for uh facilitating this um yeah uh my family owns black seed H girl we're over at 140 Treon Street we've been on the Block between Temple place and winter for over 25 years now um yeah the public safety problem downtown has uh severely affected our business directly uh people congregate all day all night uh consuming drugs selling drugs um people play loud music all day all summer um it has calmed down a little bit in the last couple weeks I would say though that uh just from being here for years now it's definitely seasonal as it gets colder we have less of this activity going on and then in the uh in the summer it ramps up again um if it's okay I would like to share my screen I have like a folder of uh some of like the images and things that we've collected over the last year or so yeah go ahead go ahead Yousef so uh this was a window that we had broken based uh from uh somebody who was uh using drugs in the lobby right in front of our store and he just uh fell over and just shattered our window we had three Windows break last year one was from uh this incident one was from um a fight that happened outside and uh somebody else got thrown into the window and shattered it as well um during there was like some construction going on and uh we had just constant people are just standing outside uh it turned into I believe we had a meeting this day actually or like the day after and uh it the scene outside was really bad people are using drugs in public uh the sidewalk is blocked you can't even get through uh customers coming to and to and from our business passing by like we're trying to sell food and like uh have a an environment for people to um you know enter our business and patronize our business and people are don't feel safe enough to uh make these kind of you know look into the store and if they've never been before come check us out it's it's uh it's it's really bad this is at night time this is uh last May this scene was basically every night for the whole entire uh summer so the spring and summer like people couldn't pass through the sidewalk as you can see and people just hang out and it's uh a lot of uh criminal activity happens outside people are scared to come in I think in this video you'll see yeah so people walk through and it's just uh it's it's it's literally a hazard like people can't just be there's only so much sidewalk that's available and uh people are just blocking it and when the police come by it disperses very quickly uh and the Boston police do a great job of uh when there are issues like it's it's very it's clears out as you can see in this video but um it's it's a lot to it's it's a lot to uh keep up with uh there's another window we had I worked a night shift for a few months this summer and uh every night I would come out and this is the uh this is like it's an emergency exit for the MBTA I guess this platform is full of trash every single night so I come out everybody has went home the block is empty but it's full of trash there's like all kinds of dis in stuff and I think it's the bid but uh there's uh the downtown people that come every night and they clean it up and it's like clockwork it's like 2 3 in the morning it's a lot of trash every night that has to get cleaned up it's it's not it's unsafe it's disgusting it's uh it's not good this is a video that uh this from our security cameras this is loud music blasting you could hear it in the store it's just an unsafe environment it's uh public alcohol Public Drug consumption this is about this is a lot of people to just be standing these people stand here all day all night all summer um and yeah it does it affects our business uh it's it's not good for the uh and I appreciate that this issue keeps getting brought up um but yeah something needs to be done for sure that Yousef thank you and I know you have a familyowned business you have a wonderful wonderful family and wonderful business there and just want to say thank you and you you deserve better your family deserves better thank you counselor F thank you good to see you good to see you I'm going to continue with testimony R um is is there another Ryan here Ryan pav is there an Andy William Woodruff yes hey William uh good afternoon everyone my name is William Woodruff my wife Ken had to return to work we're at res of Charlestown I'd like to start with a quote from our current mayor our families deserve a city where every Park and playground every classroom in every corner of Bodega is a safe place to be at any time day or night we need to ensure this promise is kept to all residents because from my perspective it's far from being fulfilled I'm a registered nurse with a career dedicating to supporting vulnerable populations including those impacted by addiction and mental health challenges I'm a combat veteran I also served as a court officer in the Commonwealth for 5 years why I'm here I'm a parent of a three-year-old who attends a Park Street School located at the heart of these issues each day I walk through Boston Common and Downtown Crossing and see unsafe unhealthy conditions firsthand as a parent I'm deeply concerned for my child's safety while trying to enjoy the parks and playgrounds as well for other families and children who deserve to feel secure in what has become uh what should be a welcoming and safe public space we can go on and on about the horrible issues but I'm going to fill in the voids I have not heard today I kind of wrote this on the cuff I want to thank a moment to thank Ed Flynn and the Boston Police Department for their rigorous Direction and tireless efforts to address this issue in the past few months I've seen changes it's extremely disappointing that the District Attorney Kevin Hayden a public official elected by the people has not deem this issue important enough to send a appointed representa representative to this critical discussion it lacks the engagement from their office and is disheartening and reflects a troubling absence of leadership on an issue that affects every Boston resident as someone who has worked both in the law enforcement and healthare I also worked as a nurse in a jail for 5 years I see how interconnected these issues are Boston Common once a symbol of our City's resilience and unity now faces a significant safety and public health challenges open drug uses discarded needles untreated medical issues uh turned our cherish space into a crisis Zone to the to address this we have different comprehensive approaches that can be accountable with different compassions mental health Addiction Services that's out there we need to apply this maybe making mobile Outreach units and treatment programs for people that need it we've already enhanced security harm reduction initiatives which is access to nle disposal sites so moms don't have to walk around with a Sharps container we also need to collaborate with local hospitals we have some of the best in the entire World Mass General toughs I work at BMC on a trauma floor and BMC this is often where the people in crisis which we're trying to help turn to safety or sometimes just turn to get away from the police by bringing in their expertise and understanding we can directly help these areas of the city all over and provide immediate care and build trust with the people out there crimes in Boston Common has exit escalated to to an unacceptable level from theft vandalisms everything that everybody's talked about allowing this crime to persist is not only endangering the public but it erodes the very fabric of our City's pride and security we must act decisively to ensure this criminal activity is addressed properly swiftly and effectively with zero tolerance for certain actions that should be labeled by the laws that we already have listed the streets look like a zombie apocalypse I read this in an article of a comedian that came in in town he just joked about Boston and it was very sad to hear yet comical I understand the difficulties of balancing this public safety issue and Justice and Community Health but Boston's been around since 1630 so we don't really have any excuses um so I urge the people here to take decisive action to hold the public officials accountable for their role in addressing the issues because this is critical for businesses for family for children I don't see any fear-mongering uh we're here to adjust genuine concerns of residents and taxpayers so we're going to have to channel our energy into the solutions to create better problems to create better solutions for our problems so again I want to thank Ed Flynn the Boston police dep department for their dedication and hard work to improve this situation and so hopefully we can together create a real meaningful change in a shorter period of time than a longer period of time so thank you thank you William and William also want to say thank you for your service to our country and the armed services as well you're welcome can is Shannon here hi Shannon hi my name is Shannon McDonald I moved here from New York City in 2006 to Downtown Crossing and I still live here at one Franklin Street my main concern is safety um I came to Downtown Crossing thinking this is the best area of Boston with access to all areas by foot I walk to MGH to work at different hours and have done so since 2006 and always assumed the safety the feeling of safety increase and the downtown crossing area would prosper and we've seen it go up and down but I do think the last year has been the year that I've been more fearful than ever um and uh I think an on the on the ground police presence makes a huge difference um and just need more of it and I do think this area should again flourish and and have um and have a better reputation if we can supply that for the area and make it safe more businesses will come more people will live in the buildings in this area and I know colleagues who have moved to uh Boston to work at MGH with me have chosen other areas of the city because of the lack of the feeling of safety when they're in Downtown Crossing thank you very much thank you Shannon for your testimony my friend all the way from South Boston John provenzano you're up next I also want to say thank you to a friend of mine who's a police officer that's working um officer Z he's out of A1 want to say thank you to my friend for the professional work he does John provenzano you're on the hot seat thank you counselor Flynn thank you for being here and the counselors that have been here and um thank you to uh William I appreciate everything you said we need some answers and we can all get up here and tell tell you what the problems are but what I'm anxious about is trying to get answers to solve this problem and I know you guys work around the clock and trying to get that stuff get things done and what my what my comments are going to be is just I come from South Boston my life lifelong resident of South Boston and I could honestly tell you right now and my family is still there everybody what uh one son that lives away is that I don't even feel that safe in South Boston anymore there things that are going on the Overflow from those poor people those sick individuals the mental and the drug problems that these people have is overflowing all through the city and we have to do something to solve that more than just making them disappear from one area so if I could just jot down these couple of things number one would be if we were saving money since the day that bridge was torn down we'd have enough money by now to get that done to get that bridge done and once we get that bridge done I had family members that lived that worked in that in that hospital and there were signs there I remember going over and seeing them welcome to people that needed the help and they got it it was 100% better than what we are now I would urge and I apologize to this because I get a little bit angry our society is angry there's no question about it our society is angry I've been a I've been a victim of that anger and I'm straightening that out personally to get squared away but what we need I went to a I went to a funeral yesterday of a family member there was a firefighter for 40 years and that church was full when I say police firemen uh fire firefighters by the hundreds and the priest made one little comment I talked to him afterwards and he said I wish and this isn't getting into religion this is just just getting into faith of being kind to each other and he said I wish does this church look like this every week would be a better Society for it and that's one of the things that we have to do we have to start being kind to each other we have to start helping out each other neighbors and strangers alike walking and driving it's just it's not good we have an angry society and I know YouTube folks that I know personally I work hard for this and I wish everybody was here because I would have a common for the whole Council and I mean this sincerely and I'd get as many people and if everybody from every town got people if we went and petitioned the whole Council to lead us because you are our leaders to the state house with the whole ton of residents to tell them that we need the money between the city and the government and the state and the federal government we need that bridge built so we can start helping these poor people that are in trouble they're right outside they're right outside they're outside they walk the streets in South Boston and that scares me because I can't help them as a matter of fact most of them want to do harm because they need money they need this or they need that so so that would be one of my Solutions John you probably have about 20 seconds is that okay that that's fine Eddie I've got a bunch of stuff but it's just I was watching you on TV I planned on coming I wasn't feeling that good but once once I started hearing the stuff here I we just have to do more and that would be probably I guess that would be my my last thing to the first thing to say was let's get that organized let's get to the State House the mayor has connections at the State House from what I understand you know she's doing pretty good with with them and get that bridge done I think that would be half of our problem to solve and the other one would be and I know you've heard this before thank you more police when you when you when you're walking down the street or you're driving your car wave it a police officer wave it a police officer let them know that we we appreciate what they do but that's not enough they need more police officers thank you Edie I'm sorry I took too much time thank you John and and sorry for your loss of your brother-in-law thank you the Boston Boston firefighter yesterday who's a recipient of the Fitzgerald award the the highest award that can be bestowed on a Boston firefighter for his bravery um thank you Rachel good to see you Rachel to see you i' like to thank the Boston city council for allowing me as well as everyone else the opportunity to speak on this critical issue last year I came to the bos Boston City Hall in order to see if I could have a hearing requested to discuss the downtown neighborhood because at that time I had already seen that there was indeed an issue a crisis actually instead of a hearing on that our hearing was held to discuss methodo mile a day ahead of a another hearing to discuss methodo mile numerous hearings have been held on this particular area without a single actionable plan yielded out of frustration I went to speak with the state representative during a coffee hour and I asked him for Action I asked him for cooperation with the Boston city council and of course the mayor's office and I plan to ask other state representatives and other state senators because in fact there needs to be more cooperation between the city council and members of the legislature on this issue in the interum though another methodo mile has in fact sprung up as many people have attested to still there's been scant focus on the entirety of this now not so new critical or I could even say crisis area a lot of attention has been given to the Boston Common and I can see that to a certain point however it must be said that between North Station and South Station it is a large open air drug Market not just fanol there's also meth there's also Tran dope which has wiped out Philadelphia and I'm scared that it could do the same to Boston this is unacceptable so I also want to say let me be clear I will always stand with the recovery Community always but it is critical to focus on businesses their staff and residents as it is businesses in the downtown area are struggling people are shooting up aggressive sensitivity toward employees in these different businesses is taking place we have theft public defecation the amalgam of this has all allowed blight to set in this area so the struggling businesses have even more to contend with again this is unacceptable a feasible plan must be put into place while I appreciate this opportunity to testify at this hearing after a certain point we need action not just talk also I want to say that there needs to be more support given to the police they are extended beyond their capacity we can no longer afford or we can no longer continue to handcuff them no pun intended the police cannot continue to be more creative because politicians are not doing their jobs so I have three suggestions one again there needs to be greater cooperation between the Boston city council and the Massachusetts legislature but there also needs to be greater cooperation between the city council and the mayor's office I do feel like the mayor's office could be more implicated in fact they must be and then also I'm going to address the elephant in the room although we have tremendous resources and great hospitals and very talented Minds we need to send a message that Boston is not a Dumping Ground for other parts of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and other states thank you so much for your time thank and thank you Rachel I think I called on everybody that signed in if I didn't call you and you did sign in or you still want to testify please come down now this is an opportunity yes sir come on down anyone else want to testify yep come on down just take your name and um where you from please sure uh youngan Chase and I live in Downtown Crossing um when Yousef was showing the pictures I was so disappointed that uh councelor Durkin was not here because that's exactly just across the street from the Fountain of paradise that she was trying to describe um we're at this meeting for Public Safety and and and and uh uh criminal justice and this is the wrong meeting if you want to talk about the success of the restaurants on Temple place that's a waste of time and if we cannot get the counselors in this room to understand this is a real crisis this is not fear-mongering right this is a real crisis uh then we've already lost if we can't convince the people that are sitting in this room so that was kind of disappointing uh last year September my wife and I and my adult son was coming out of a restaurant in Chinatown at the corner of Beach in Washington full pasture you might you know um and we were assaulted by a um a person with uh uh mental ill illness it was a large person uh he's I would say 6 fo two 250 plus large guy grabbed us back of my son's neck yanked him uh uh clotheslined him and I went back and then he started to trying to push me and I I pushed my wife uh you know to to protect her from being attacked and and all all in the meanwhile I'm calling 911 getting the police uh onto the scene and all through that uh incident um I injured my leg because of that assault and so I was on the crutches for a month and and plastic boot hardness uh afterwards so uh this is not a narrative as somebody wanted to put it this is a reality and I'm so disappointed that counselor Durkin is not here to listen to this um so counselor we're talking you know we may be just talking about violence of somebody beating somebody else up but I have seen on Hamilton Place leading up to Orum theater somebody pissing into the into the door uh uh Corner uh my son has witnessed somebody some lady just butt naked undressing on lron Street between Washington and traymont um I have seen from my unit outside the window even at night there are people sleeping in in in the doorways of foot lock a Foot Locker and the in the lid the lids and the homeless person who's sleeping there will piss in a cup and throw it onto the sidewalk and there's group of people just walking right over it are they violent no but does it make you feel safe it does not I think it's you know we we do need to worry about violence and so forth but we also need to clean up the city and Council in frin thank you so much for fighting for us I am behind you uh if you if you're stuck I will push you from behind keep fighting for us do not waver and and let's get something done and let's not have another one of these meetings six from 6 months from now or 12 months from now let's have some action let let's let's see what would be different November of 2025 than November of 2024 I would love to see some difference some actionable items have taken place but thank you councelor Flynn I am fully behind you and I'll push you from behind if you get stuck thank you thank you for your comments just want to respond briefly is is is I I I honestly believe that there's a lot of unreported violence against the Asian Community here in in the city of Boston I proudly represent the largest Asian community in Boston you you were assaulted your family was assaulted um don't know the reason why but it was probably a mentally Disturbed person but I opened up my opening statement with a story about a young woman that was beat up got her nose broken and cheekbone fractured um on Boon Street and trumont Street for no reason um in my opinion because she was she was Asian um but I do think there's a lot of unreported violence I also think there's a lot of random violence in Boston yes ma'am hello councilor to councelor Murphy um I've been sitting here as long as you all have and I want to thank you thank you thank you for your absolute commitment to this issue and you're right it's Optics it's not just what was said before our other counselor left it's visual images that we just saw from the gentleman who went before me it's all of that and it's more I'm Peggy in by the way I'm the vice president of government community relations at Emerson College I have uh been there a couple of decades so I've seen it come and go but I just want to say that today is a day that we really all have to come together at the end of this session and we really we can call it action we can call it meetings but really we don't want to go down the paths that we see that were mentioned in here today we and we're not even near those but the feeling is we're getting very close we have on a given day well we have 5,000 people who come and go at Emerson college students staff faculty we have theaters we have the most theater seats in the state of Massachusetts those are open to the public they are thriving thank God but the things we've had to add this year and this college has moved from the Back Bay almost 25 years ago now this year has been a telling year as you know we opened up the beer garden we were proud recipience of being able to activate the corner at Boyston and Tremont it has been tremendously tremendously successful and it does has nothing to do with Emerson College it has everything to do with the city wanting to make some activation sites work I'm proud to stand here today and say we are also going this we had our second year um and we are going to have a third year but our second year really made us take a pause every morning we'd come to the Beer Garden there would be either feal smearing all over the coolers all over the trailers all over the Planters this was going on for about every week at least twice we had a close down a number of times we couldn't open a number of times because we had to start training people in a Hazmat fashion so we turned around we just said okay what are we going to do so we had some cameras more cameras we did the we did everything we could do and then we started getting some folks who didn't want to come in and just have some fun to really just take over the microphone take over the stage give people some you know really angst um so we got another security uh system going by the way fortunately Emerson College's Police Department is Li is um yeah can uh is licensed has arrest Powers yes and they have helped the BPD and the BPD I can't I I can't even begin to tell you how lucky we have to have the Boston police unbelievable people and we we just turned it all around we said okay people want to jump the fences we we'll we'll we'll escort them right out but the point I'm making is that this action that we took to just do this Garden turned that corner around now I know at the uh I know at the Brewer Fountain they tried it it didn't work they had many opportunities to just start it up again and they just couldn't do it they just couldn't do it we persevered because we had two security systems and we also had our own ecpd they come around every hour they're plane closed and they really did a a phenomenal job we need more of that type of activity and we need not leave this room today without saying a selection of people a representative uh group of all the people that represented other organizations residents in a room and I'm going to quote Rishi and we're not getting out of there until something happens because councilor Flynn I have to thank him publicly because he ran to me and said I want you to tell your students this year be careful in the Comon I want and I personally this is coming from Council of Flynn will come to your orientations each and every one of them so that I can be the voice to tell them to be safe it's a different Year we're working on it tirelessly and we want you to have that opportunity to to have more information and the more information we can give your students uh the better and fortunately we have been very lucky to not have a lot of the activities that were mentioned uh today so I want to end by saying thank you thank you thank you councelor Murphy so good to see you again and the college stands by everything and everything we could do for this community and Beyond thank you so much thank you Peggy and thank you to emson college thank you to suffk University as well but these college students the faculty and the staff they're members of our community they add tremendous value to this neighborhood we value them as neighbors we value them as employees we respect emson college and suffk and the other educational institutions that we have in the downtown area is there anyone else that hasn't spoken that would like to speak hearing none um I do want to have closing comments let me start with councelor Murphy councelor Murphy do you have any closing statement um just that this was a great hearing thank you for calling it um and looking forward to the continued partnership and like the previous speaker said when we come back and I know we'll see each other many many times before then but November 2025 like what will be concrete changes that we can speak to and that we can talk about that we see and how how can we use our power here on the council but residents and colleges and police to work together to get this under control so thank you for bringing us together thank you Council Murphy thank you for important work and leadership as well let me let me close by talking about a couple of points that I that I observed like the residents here or the employees that are in downtown or the businesses or the or the tourists the students I love the downtown area I love the Bost in common I love everything about it I went to school here High School in Chinatown I worked at the courthouse for 8 years at suffk Superior Court I've been here for 8 years my wife worked and off of um Federal Street as well not not right in the financial district um but this hearing came about and I you probably have realized a lot of my colleagues did not want me to have this hearing and they they pushed back on it and they were saying that you know I was exaggerating what is happening in the downtown crossing area or the Boston common as you probably had a sense from listening to to uh some of my colleagues but that's not the reality we listen to the reality from residents we listen to people that work here we listen to people that love the area that have made this their home that have made this area their career and they have asked us or they send their kids to the Park Street school and they're walking through downtown crossing or they're walking through Beacon Hill but they're not giving up on the downtown crossing area they're not giving up on the Boston common area they don't want me to be a cheerleader for the neighborhood they want me to solve problems and I'm not going to come to a meeting and tell everybody how great things are CU that's not how I do things I'll come to a meeting and tell you exactly how I feel and what I'm going to do about it but I can I can take the criticism because that's part of the job of elected officials but the meeting really came about because residents demanded respect residents demanded action and residents demanded answers from all of us including including myself they they clearly want police presence in the downtown area in the Boston Common I think they want us to enforce the laws as well and that probably takes a little more effort and time in working with our state legislators as as several people have mentioned but I think think there has to be some type of Reform where when you are selling drugs openly you are arrested and if you have a criminal record you do time you do jail time or you do prison time we also are compassionate people I was at St Anthony's yesterday twice actually with Mar and Ponte once for a um veterans lunch but also wants to support the residents of Chinatown with some food access issues but we we need to ensure that anyone that's suffering from substance use issues has the ability to get into treatment and to get into short-term and long-term housing and to have and live with dignity and respect but you can't do that on the streets you can't do that while you use and you need you need a detox bed and that's the experience I had as a probation officer I spent all of my time getting people into people on probation getting them into detox whether they liked it or they didn't like it but the option of using drugs should not be there for anyone in my in my opinion they need to be cared for medically and given the opportunity to live a healthy life but what residents are asking for is for us to at least acknowledge there's a problem in downtown Crossing for at least us to acknowledge there's a problem in Boston Common and to come up with some solutions I don't have all the answers I'm going to reach out over the next week after Thanksgiving with Rishi who I who I respect he's on the board of directors of the St Francis house he's he's done more to help people in in recovery and supporting the homeless than than anybody but residents are also asking that we respect their quality of life when they take their child to school that that child can go to school without being assaulted or harassed we want to support our businesses in the downtown area as well businesses call me up all the time they say hey Ed we don't feel safe in there that's why we're not coming back that's why I'm trying to make this neighborhood safer you pay huge property tax and you and you want a little bit of respect and you want some fanas for you and your family let's continue to work together I'm going to reach out to the residents Association I'm going to reach out to the Boston police the the park rangers that's I think that's part of it as well and um the businesses the colleges the universities the residents the schools everybody loves the area and we're not giving up on it I want to say thank you to Shane for being here and working so late and want to say thank you to council Murphy for being here as well uh this meeting is adjourned w