As I read the latest news on the so-called Mass & Cass issue (“Mass & Cass emergency sought,” Boston Herald, Sept. 2), I wondered why all of a sudden have politicians everywhere been pushing for states of emergency, whether it’s Gov. Healey over a migrant influx thanks to our U.S. border crisis or four members of the Boston City Council calling the chronic homeless encampment down by Atkinson and Southampton streets a “crisis” too.
Where are the other nine city councilors, do they not see an emergency down near the Mass and Cass intersection? What does such a declaration by the Boston Public Health Commission do for the situation of human misery that exists as upwards of hundreds live in tents surrounded by violence, drugs, mental illness, etc.
The four city councilors who signed on to the letter, what do they hope to accomplish? They write “dramatic intervention is vital” and they criticized attempting “politically expedient solutions that do not address the underlying problems.”
Here’s a question to be answered. What are the “underlying problems” that need to be addressed? Asking the public health folks to declare an emergency while the city council itself holds off on the mayor’s tent ban ordinance until October? I thought we were in an emergency now?
Declaring a state of emergency is a political cop out. Act now, do something, otherwise it is all smoke and mirrors. There are two choices available. Do something today or send out press releases and worry about how things pan out tomorrow. Tomorrow’s solutions tend to be easier.
The homeless encampment didn’t happen yesterday. People didn’t just show up with their tents and sleeping bags. City officials both elected and appointed have seen this encampment area metastasizing for years until they could no longer stay oblivious as to what was happening down there. They let the area continue to grow and grow until those living in the shadow of life consumed the whole area. “Mass & Cass” isn’t just a highway intersection, it isn’t just Atkinson Street.. It is by Clifford Park and Edward Everett Square and the “Big Pear” too.
Actions speak louder than words, louder than press conferences and louder than emergency declarations too.
Sal Giarratani
East Boston
It’s interesting to listen to President Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. talk about how awful and despicable Donald John Trump and his Mega MAGA followers are. Well Joe, you have been a United States senator from 1973 through 2009, vice president from 2009 through 2017 and sworn in as president of the United States on Jan. 20, 2021. So with all this governmental background you possess, why is this country going in the wrong direction since your presidency and your approval rating at around 40%? You really don’t need to answer, we all know why.
Tony Meschini
Scituate