Josh Kraft slams Boston Mayor Wu’s Mass and Cass plan: ‘A clear failure’

Boston mayoral candidate Josh Kraft hammered Mayor Michelle Wu over worsening conditions in neighborhoods taxed by Mass and Cass spillover saying that the matter has gotten so out of control that her own staff is admitting failure Kraft citing an admission made by Boston Masses Healthcare Commissioner Bisola Ojikutu last week that the city s plan to tackle the open-air drug region at the so-called Methadone Mile area has failed announced Tuesday that it was time for the mayor to reverse program and adopt the plan he pitched two months ago to address the emergency In current times I m calling on Mayor Wu to listen and act to listen to a district that is suffering and scared to the experts advocates and neighborhood leaders here with us in contemporary times who know there s a better path forward and to her staff by promptly changing discipline on Mass and Cass because what you re doing here is not working Kraft reported at a press conference he held at Worcester Square Sadly the only one who seems to be ignoring the truth is a mayor who keeps trying to convince us that we all live in the safest city in America he added His plan he revealed includes stricter enforcement for open-air drug use dealing and related crime restarting a region syringe undertaking that he says has resulted in a surge in improperly discarded needles since it was discontinued by the city the implementation of Recover Boston a community-pitched recovery campus and a renewed partnership with the state that he says was strained when Wu took office Kraft described Mass and Cass as a emergency with two faces pointing to the human tragedy of homelessness addiction and mental wellbeing issues that have led to a story of pervasive general disorder and a city that has lost control of drug dealing of human trafficking and of property crime The spillover concern is particularly prevalent right now in the South End residents and business leaders advised the Herald on Tuesday The mayor s plan began with clearing out tent encampments at Mass and Cass in late but has been criticized for pushing the drug use and related crime into surrounding neighborhoods If you don t live here you don t know how bad it is Brian McCarter a -year-old South End resident commented It s scary all the time The matter McCarter noted just keeps getting worse While he attended Kraft s event he mentioned that he was more focused on trying to survive until the voting than thinking about who he d vote for City Councilor Ed Flynn who represents part of the South End and was at Kraft s press conference commented what is taking place now in Boston must be declared a society safety and populace wellness crisis We re here in the South End because the mayor s management of this problem has been a clear failure Kraft explained Just look at all the for-sale signs here We all know that cities grow when they attract families but families are scared to raise families in this neighborhood Kraft described a scene where there s frequent open drug use it s not uncommon to see addicts passed out on doorsteps and residents including children are forced to witness people selling drugs outside their front door and people injecting needles littering the ground and people going to the bathroom on the sidewalk To compound matters he disclosed residents are blown off by police when they call to record those problems To be clear the police are not to blame Kraft reported We ll never get there on enforcement with a mayor who believes inhabitants drug use stealing and quality of life crimes should be consequence-free I know chosen people may think the mayor s plan is rooted in compassion but there s nothing compassionate about leaving people perpetually stuck in the grips of addiction It s truly heartbreaking Wu fired right back at Kraft She defended the city s plan and dismissed her opponent s criticism as evidence of his lack of leadership We re sticking with it and there has been so much done over the past scant years Wu communicated reporters saying that her efforts have ended tent encampments in Boston We haven t solved homelessness we haven t solved the opioid problem but we re in a different place now than we were as a city several years ago To say that nothing has happened or everything s a failure it s not leadership to constantly tear down our first responders and society robustness workers and criticize the city This has been an ongoing challenge for over a decade Her campaign added that It s no surprise that like with every other issue Josh Kraft has plenty of criticism but no new ideas It s not leadership when your only message day after day is to root against Boston Wu reported the challenge on this particular issue dates back to the closure of the Long Island Bridge and addiction recovery campus The city s long-term goal is to get those facilities up and running again to tackle the opioid predicament but with that being years away the mayor mentioned her administration is working in the meantime to try to resolve a really complicated nationwide issue at the local level She noted that overdoses are way down The Newmarket Business Improvement District which is behind the Recover Boston proposal included in Kraft s plan disclosed the formation of three strategy teams Tuesday that would be focused in part on determining the viability location and cost of at least one long-term addiction recovery campus Recover Boston has been pitched by district and business leaders since August of as a stopgap until the bridge can be rebuilt to a permanent -acre recovery campus on Long Island City administrators have indicated that its lack of progress has been due to a funding issue Sue Sullivan Newmarket s executive director estimated that such a facility would cost roughly million annually to operate which she declared is very doable She anticipates a combination of city state and private funding Talk means nothing unless you truly have the money to make something happen Sullivan informed the Herald And we re at the point where we re done talking about it We need to make it happen In the meantime Wu announced the city will be ramping up police enforcement and information in hot-spot areas this summer This past February the city s plan for Mass and Cass shifted to tackling congregate outdoor drug use We know that becomes a magnet for drug trafficking and that just can t happen in Boston Wu explained It s illegal it s unacceptable and it has impacts across the board We are really focused on getting people into healing and recovery and into that pathway to housing We re not quitting on the concern and we know that there are policies that have made a real difference in Boston People gather in the South End near a press conference Tuesday called by Mayoral candidate Josh Kraft who urged city leaders to take up his plan to improve quality of life around the open air drug industry in the Mass and Cass area of the city Nancy Lane Boston Herald