December 3, 2024 • 39 mins
The drug and homeless problem in and around Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard that has been plaguing the area for quite some time has not exactly been solved, despite Mayor Wu’s efforts. The problem appears to have just moved to the Boston Common as neighborhood residents’ express concerns. In a survey of 300 residents done by the Downtown Boston Neighborhood Association, 71 percent reported feeling less safe in the area of the Common.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
It's Night Side with Dan Ray I WBZ, Boston's radio beggar.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Dan Watkins appreciated so reading the Boston Globe this morning,
as I do every morning. First I read the Sports page,
my favorite part of the Globe, and then I go
to the news in the Metro section, and a very
interesting piece by Joan Venaki, a good friend of mine,
a colleague for many years. We grew up sort of
as reporters in this city. And she's listening tonight. I
(00:27):
hope you feel a little bit better. She told us
she couldn't join us tonight because she was a little
under the weather. Hope're feeling better, Joan mass and cast
drug and homeless problems moved to Boston Common. Boston Common.
That is the headline in the op ed piece on
a eleven in the Boston Globe today. And I'm just
gonna read a little bit and then set it up
for people who do not know what I'm talking about,
(00:48):
and we'll be talking a moment with Rishi Sukla, who's
with the Downtown Boston Neighborhood Association. She starts off her article,
which I found it to be really an interesting article.
Joan wrote this morning a year ago, Boston Mayor Michelle
wou oversaw the peaceful dismantling of the area around Massachusetts
(01:10):
Avenue and Melina Cass Boulevard, the epicenter of the city's
homeless and opioid crisis. So what's known as Mass and Cass,
what's happening now around Boston Common is more evidence that
the problems associated with Mass and Casts have not disappeared.
They have just dispersed. And there are many people who,
(01:32):
myself included, do not feel that Boston is as friendly
and as walkable as city, particularly at night, as it
once was. Now again, we have a homeless crisis in
this country. Boston is affected like every other city. We
have a huge drug problem in this country. And we
(01:55):
saw it at masson Cass and for years, for years,
and it was allowed to stay there, to grow, to fester,
and finally, finally it was dispersed. So my question, which
I'm going to open up to the conversation is for
(02:16):
those of you who come to Boston, do you come
into the city as often as you used to do
a few years ago. I mean, there's a lot of
problems with Boston right now. Okay, it's got a financial problem,
it has a services problem, it has a school bus problem,
it has an MBTA problem. We've talked about that, it
(02:39):
has too many bike lanes. We've talked about that. But
now the problem that some people are beginning to talk
about is what's it like around the Boston Common that
is the jewel of this city. And you can talk
about the Rose Fitzgerald Greenway, which is beautiful, we can
talk about Arnold Arboretum, but in terms of the Common,
(03:03):
it sits really dead center in Boston, bounded on on
one side by Beacon Street, the other side by Tremont
Street and Charles Street. Uh at it's at the base
of the Statehouse, the seat of government. Uh and it
is a place that most people think of as Boston.
We had asked some folks if they wanted to join us,
(03:26):
uh and the first one who is joining us tonight
as a representative of the Downtown Boston Neighborhood Association, uh
Richi Shukla, was quoted in today's piece by Joan Vanaki.
Uh and and Rieschi has joined us. Richie Schulkla, welcome
(03:46):
to Night's side. Your your perspective on this, you are
quoted in Joan Vanaki's piece this morning, I'm going to
bring Ricchi up here, uh to talk with You're quoted
in the Peace by Joean Vanaki this morning as saying
it is a beautiful and precious jewel. We need to
keep it that way. However, joe Vanaki writes, he said
(04:09):
an uptick in open air drug dealing over the past
six months, which he attributed to the dislocation of the
mass and cast population, has changed the atmosphere. Welcome to Nightside.
Speaker 3 (04:19):
How are you, Richie, Dan, great good Evan. Thanks for
having me.
Speaker 2 (04:23):
You're very welcome. First all, tell us the Downtown Boston
Neighborhood Association. What groove do you represent?
Speaker 3 (04:29):
Sure thing?
Speaker 4 (04:30):
So.
Speaker 3 (04:30):
We are a volunteer led group of residents, business owners,
property owners, effectively stakeholders here in Downtown Boston that try
to give voice to residents and all the other stakeholders
who are living here and doing business here, go to
school here. And our goal is simple. We care about
one thing only, which is to improve the quality of
life for folks who are living here and working here
(04:51):
and trying to do business here and doing everything we
can to have great relations with city Hall and with
our partners in state government to do those sorts of thanks,
whether it's planning and development, or it's thinking about zoning
and permitting or public safety. You know, we care a
lot about the total situation and packageer in downtown. So
we you know, again volunteers with what a thousand residents
(05:12):
and members who are part of this group, and this
is that's an important istion to us.
Speaker 2 (05:16):
Okay, So, as someone who lives downtown, do you work
downtown as well?
Speaker 3 (05:21):
I do. I own my own company. I've lived in
Boston the last twenty five years college, grad school, and
so you know, I do a lot here in downtown.
I've got two young kids, my wife and I live
here as well, so we're doing a lot here in downtown.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
Right, So you're heavily invested. And again, were you quoted
accurately in Joevanaki's piece today. I just read the quote
and her characterization of your comments.
Speaker 3 (05:44):
Yeah. Look, I think that's exactly right. But the Boston
comment is absolutely a jewel of our city, and I
think the deterioration that we've seen is highly problematic and
it's obvious what the issues are.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
So you attributed to the to the dispersal of the
folks who had set up shop and been allowed to
operate at mass and casts for many years. What again,
I happen to agree with you, but I'd love to
know describe to us and to my audience. You know
what you've seen, what you have seen, what you've experienced.
Speaker 3 (06:18):
Yeah, great, great questioning. Look, I'm in the park every
single day of the year, you know, but for traveling holidays,
I've got I've got a puppy. You got two young
kids who walked to the bus stop. So I probably
walked three or four miles through the Boston Common and
through downtown every single day. And so I you know,
I see it and I experienced it. So I'll tell
you this. At six am, if you go out front
of walk your dog in the park, you avoid parts
(06:39):
of the park because you know there's going to be
human waste, needles, you might be encountering folks with mental
health disorder or substance use disorder, and it's just not
a it's not a safe place for you or your
pet with your children. You know, we've had stabbings at
eight o'clock in the morning. Kids are on the way
to school witnessing these sorts of things. I would say
in the last couple of weeks, the Boston Police has
(07:00):
stepped up its efforts to try to clear out some
of these areas. But as Joe said, you know, dislocating
issues and diversion, it's it's you know, it's abandoned, right,
it's a temporary solution, and so that's not going to
be what causes us to improve the situation long term.
I'm on the border of Saint francisous for the largest
day shelter in Massachusetts, from the largest in the country,
and so when you talk to outreach workers and you
(07:22):
think about, you know, the work that's being done by
the city and others the shelters, you kind of know
the populations that are you know, fairly permanent fixtures so
to speak. Here in the downtown area, the homeless population,
and then you've got a large number of new folks
who come in here from the mass and cast population,
and with that have come a lot of issues that
are you know, all kind of highlighted in Jones piece here,
(07:44):
and that's that's what we're talking about.
Speaker 2 (07:46):
So I I'm very familiar with Boston common For many years,
I too lived in the Back Bay, worked as a
television reporter in Boston for WBS see for thirty one years.
I know the city in my sense on the more
rare occasions that I find myself on the Boston Common,
(08:11):
it is not as comfortable a place as it was
a few years ago. I see it, you know, again,
every couple of months or so. You see it virtually
every day. What's the solution?
Speaker 3 (08:30):
Yeah, Den, It's complicated, right, and I think you know,
I was at the hearing last week. I testified, and
my comment is that this is one of these unique
situations that ordinary people cannot solve on our own right.
We can't make public policy, we can't enforce the laws,
we can't arrest, we can't force folks into treatment. So
we absolutely need our city and state leaders in this case,
(08:51):
and the District Attorney's office frankly, to step up, do
their jobs more effectively, and to convene and collaborate. What
I view, you know, is this being a vacuum of leadership,
and it's not acceptable. So for folks who've lived here
and who call downtown in Boston home. This isn't just,
as you know, just a downtown issue. I mean, this
issue is spread across South Station Logan Airport, Andrews circling
(09:12):
in South Boston. It's in different parts of our cities.
We're simply moving the issue around, which again not a solution.
Things that are more permanent solutions are reopening the Long
Island Campus, right, so for listeners who aren't aware of it,
you know, that's a place where folks used to be
able to go to get treatment and to be rehabilitated
and to come out and start their lives over again.
And we haven't had that solution for some time, and
(09:33):
so having that accelerated and reopened I think would be
a great outcome. I think having the Boston Police be
able to arrest the most violent of criminals and to
be confident that the District Attorney has their backs in
terms of prosecuting. They're really have criminals. We're all talking
about people who are you know, walking out of Roach
(09:54):
Brothers or Star Market with a loaf of bread to
feed their family. Nobody wants to see those people reprimand
and sentenced to you know, a life of hardship because
of one active of you know, quote unquote criminal activity.
That's not what we're talking about. We're talking about people
who are pushing fentandel people who are you know, gang
on gang violence, who are praying on the homeless. Those
(10:15):
are the people who need to be taken off our street.
And the District Attorney's office is Bill Margie's ballent on
this issue, and so we're trying to convene our city
state officials that try to do more on this issue.
We do a lot with the Boston Police, right they
are doing everything in their control is my view, in
my opinion, to try to resolve this issue right in
a in a dignified way, but they only have so
(10:35):
much power if if you.
Speaker 2 (10:37):
Know, they have to be back, they have to be
backed by the attorney. Let let me do this, Reachie.
Let me let me take a break here for a
couple of commercial messages, and I'll invite people to join
the conversation. I think I mean virtually agreement with everything
that you have said, because there are these quality of
life crimes, these quality of life experience sariances where you're
(11:01):
walking downtown with a couple of kids and someone's trying
to come up and get in your face, either to
confront you or to bake for money, and at some
point it has to be stopped. I think there needs
to be a much bigger undercover police presence on the Common,
(11:21):
so that so that it's people you know, can feel
safer as they move from, you know, around It's a
beautiful area. I just think that that once you lose it,
once you lose the Common. We've seen this uptick of
crime in New York City. Anybody who goes to New
York City, in my opinion these days, is nuts because
(11:45):
you have people who have been murdered on the streets
of New York for no apparent reason. We've looked at
people who have serious mental health problems from a society
point of view, and again I have a lot more
to say. Let me take a break. If you'd like
to join the conversation. My guest is Rishi Shukla. He's
with the Downtown Boston Neighborhood Association. Obviously very well spoken,
(12:08):
very conversant with the area. I'd love to hear from you.
If you want to add to what Rishi is saying,
or if you want to disagree, you are more than
welcome to have a good conversation here on Nightside, because
once we lose Boston Common, we're going to lose a
big important section of the city and it's just not
(12:28):
wealthy people who live in the upper ends of Beacon
Street or on Beacon Hill. It is a place where
everyone should feel welcome. Six one, seven, two, five, four,
ten thirty six one seven, nine, three, one, ten thirty.
Those are the two numbers that will get you on.
We'll be back on night Side talking about safety, crime
on the Boston Common and generally in Boston. I think
(12:49):
Boston statistically is going in It has a lot to
be proud of. The murder rate in Boston is down.
But whatever decisions and policies and programs have been used
in some parts of the city to cut the murder
rate down, that again, that police presence has to be
(13:10):
spread throughout the city. And let's start with the Boston Common.
Back on Nightside right after this.
Speaker 1 (13:16):
Now back to Dan Ray live from the Window World
night Side Studios on w b Z the News Radio.
Speaker 2 (13:23):
We'll talk with Ricky Scholka, who was quoted today in
Joe Venaki's piece in the Boston Globe. Mass and cast,
drug and homeless problems moved to Boston Common. Rischi is
the co founder of the Downtown Boston Neighborhood Association. If
you'd like to join the conversation. I'm with you, Richie.
I think that a lot of times the most important
(13:47):
part of this Boston city is ignored. Let's go to
Chris in Boston see what he has to say. Chris, welcome.
You're on a night side with Dan Ray along with
Rishi Sholka, co founder of the Downtown Boston Neighborhood Association.
Your thoughts on the issue we're talking about, and specifically
Joevenaki's call him in the Globe today?
Speaker 4 (14:04):
Absolutely good? Even Dan, how you doing this evening?
Speaker 2 (14:08):
Good? Doing great?
Speaker 4 (14:09):
Chris, That's good. It's getting really cold, and I'm getting
really worried about the people out in the streets of Boston.
For many years, I've been called Boston the city of
broken dreams, and ever since Maji Menino died, it's just
now get to the point it scares me. And it's
proven to the point that when I call Boston the
(14:30):
city of broken dreams, it's starting to show more and more.
Speaker 2 (14:34):
Okay, so what is your experience been, Chris. I know
you've called me before, but refresh my recollection. Are you
involved in any of these issues? You know, either either good,
bad or indifferent?
Speaker 5 (14:47):
Well, you know, everything's getting expensive, and then it comes
to the working class. Now it's becoming to be the poor,
to the point that all he's doing is pushing people
out in the reads. And for example, when you see
mass and casts, these people are out there are just
like once like us, but because they're facing problems, they're like,
(15:12):
you know, well, who cares, I'm going to do drugs, I'm.
Speaker 4 (15:14):
Going to hang out in the streets.
Speaker 5 (15:16):
I can't afford rent, you know, I can't afford anything,
because you know, everything's so difficult these days. And then
you got and then you got news media out there
during the news before talking about well if this person's
in the poors and this and that, y'ah, yeah, I'm
sitting there like well, ain't got the mayor's responsibilities. As
(15:37):
she said before she became mayor, that hey, this is Boston,
the city for the people, meaning it's supposed to be
sitting for the people. It don't matter if you're rich
or working class, supposed to take care of everybody, just
like how.
Speaker 2 (15:53):
And obviously you need people with all sorts of skill sets.
You and I agree on that. So you know, when
you need college professors and you need doctors, and you
need lawyers, but you also need plumbers and electricians. Uh.
And you know there are there are older people, there
are people who have disabilities, there are people who have
addiction problems. You're right, it's a it's a it's a
(16:16):
very complicated population. So what do you think we could
do in the short run or in the long run
that would get us back to maybe how what the
feel of Boston was when Tom Monina was mayor. He's
not coming back, obviously.
Speaker 4 (16:31):
I know, I know, and I miss him. See Tom
took pride. That's the good thing about Tom Menino. That's
why he was the run as long as mayor, because
he cared about the people in Boston.
Speaker 2 (16:44):
By the way, By the way, I just want to Chris,
let me agree with you. He had no political aspirations
beyond being mayor. He was that to him was the
most important job in the world. But what what do
you think needs to be done? Just tell me that,
and then I got to get you got a break
for new Go ahead, tell me what what you if
you're mayor? What would you see? How did you see done?
Speaker 4 (17:05):
I really wish Boston become more of a diversity for
everybody that is not being so divided? Am I making
sense here?
Speaker 2 (17:13):
Well? You are, But the problem is right now, So
what do you do for people we're talking about the
Boston Common. What do you do for people who are
addicted and who are you're sleeping on park benches in
the Boston Common or whatever and getting into trouble? Uh
do you do you have? Do you open up more shelters? Uh?
Do you do you bring the police? I think one
(17:34):
of the things you can do is bring undercovered police
officers into the common to make sure that people feel
a little safer if you're coming in with your kids
or your wife, your husband, you know, do that on
the one hand, so you're you're maintaining some order. At
the same time, try to get people who do have
these addiction problems into programs that can help them get
(17:57):
rid of.
Speaker 4 (17:57):
Them exactly like help out the people that struggle and
get them out the streets.
Speaker 5 (18:02):
You know, I believe, strongly believe knowledge is but to
say that nobody doesn't deserve the stuff one to be
out in the streets as.
Speaker 4 (18:08):
Human beings to we all got to take k each.
Speaker 5 (18:10):
Other because that's what God wants all of us to do.
If we all God's children, I don't see if you're
rich poor, I don't care what political We all got
to take k each other and that's there.
Speaker 2 (18:20):
There are some people, though, Chris, who was who? And
I think you might agree, you might disagree. You can
tell me I'm right, you can tell me I'm wrong.
There are some people out there who were so so
deep into addiction or or who have such mental health
issues they don't want I've talked to people when I
was a reporter. They they didn't want to go to
the Pine Street end. They prefer to sleep over a
(18:44):
great uh as long as they they didn't want to
be bothered. They didn't want to be bothered by anybody.
They wanted to do their own thing. How do you
reach those people?
Speaker 4 (18:54):
Well, they don't want to be in a jam pack
well shelter where there's issues and problem.
Speaker 2 (19:00):
Right, what do you do with them? You can't put
them up in the rich Carlton, Nope.
Speaker 5 (19:07):
It has to be a development to build housing for
these type of people to have roof over their head
and get some type of treatment of help in many
different ways.
Speaker 2 (19:18):
All right, Chris, Chris, I hate to do this, but
we've we're flat up against the nine thirty news. So
I got a break, but as always, thank you for listening,
thank you for calling, thank you for providing your perspective
to my show.
Speaker 5 (19:31):
Absolutely God bless you.
Speaker 2 (19:32):
Dan Wright. Back at you, Chris, Merry Christmas. Okay, get
you there all right? Uh we will continue, Uh, Richie.
I I wanted to deal with Chris myself. I could
have put him on with you. But what I'm looking
for is I want to get some callers for you.
(19:53):
People maybe see some of the same problems that you
see related to the and what needs to be done. Again,
talk is cheap, but I think some I specifically throw
out that we should have more undercover police officers on
the Common throughout the day, more at night than necessarily
(20:18):
during the day, but twenty four hours a day, just
to make sure that people are safe, because if people
aren't safe, nothing will will will destroy the city more
quickly than that. I'd like to talk with you about
that when we come back. We got to take quick
news breaks, So think about that. And if you agree
with me, Recie, great, If you don't feel free, We're
(20:40):
just struggling for ideas here tonight, how to make how
to make sure that Boston Common doesn't turn into the
next massive gas Back on Nightside right after the news
I got some open line six one, seven, two, five,
four ten thirty six, one seven, nine three ten thirty
Back on night Side right after.
Speaker 1 (20:55):
This night Side with Dan Ray, Boston's News Radio.
Speaker 2 (21:04):
My guest is Richie Schukele, co founder of the Downtown
Boston Neighborhood Association, and he is concerned about what has
been going on at the at the Boston Common. Richie,
we have some problems in Boston that that apparently today
(21:24):
there is a member of the City Council who's now
under investigation for some reason by the Justice Department, by
the US Attorney's Office. That is never helpful because you
never know where those sorts of investigations lead. Do you
sense or do you get a sense that the people
(21:45):
in city Hall, from the mayor on down are spending
any time on the Common? They are they seeing how
how people are behaving as to what it's like over there.
You know, again, I realized that the Common is an extraordin,
really important part of the city, but the city has
made up of many, many neighborhoods other than the Common.
(22:05):
People again, in positions of leadership, spending the time they
need to to understand what's going on in the common.
Speaker 3 (22:14):
I think the quick answer is absolutely not. We we
have a lot of things we had to worry about
in Boston, obviously, and I think with the councilor obviously
what the process tickets course, and let's see what comes
with this.
Speaker 2 (22:26):
But that is I'm not convicted. I'm not convicting anybody.
But at the same time, right when that happens, I've
seen this movie before. It's sometimes no, no, well, look
it's not it's not helpful.
Speaker 3 (22:39):
We're looking for leadership. Having these sources of issues pop
up what seems to be every three or four months
in the city council, that's just not good. It's not helpful,
it's not effective. We had a hearing last week and
we had a total of four city councilors show up
to the hearing. Right, we had the sponsor, we had
the chair, and we had two other counselors show up.
Speaker 2 (22:58):
That's, by the way, for those you know, that's a
thirteen member city council. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (23:03):
I couldn't say how disappointed I was. And to schedule
it on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. This isn't my first rodeo.
I mean, you can't bury this story. That's not something
that I'm going to allow as leader here in downtown.
I'm a volunteer. Look, I have no agenda, i have
no two to four year commitment. I'm not beholden to
a term. I'm just the guy who's trying to get
things done on behalf of people who live are most
importantly my kids. And so what I take issue with
(23:26):
is the lack of focus, sustained leadership. I can't tell
you how many conversations I've had with folks in law enforcement.
It's not just the Boston police, who are just fed
up with a couple of things. One, it's so hard
to recruit good men and women who want to be
officers in Boston because of all the things that have
gone on for the last four or five years. So
there's a moral issue, and it's hard to get talented.
And number two, you're trying to do your job as
(23:48):
an officer only to have folks like the District Attorney's
office go back and send people back to the street
with no repercussion, it seems. And so that's demoralizing. I mean,
who wants that? And so for my you know, being
the mayor, of Boston is you're the chief executive. Your job,
in my opinion, and the governor it's the same thing,
is to convene all of the leaders. Your executives are
(24:10):
the city and state agencies that make policy and that
govern public health and public safety. They need to be
walked up in a room with that said, in the
hearing until we figure out the three or four things
we can do to actually fix the problem on the
Boston Common and by the way, with Pike Session, that
impacts the rest of the city. So what's good for
one citizen here should be good for everybody, is my view.
And I don't care if that's the museum issue that
(24:31):
you know, folks you're talking about with kids in Boston
versus private schools versus all that. Everything that we do
as a city should be good for everybody. That's my
general view of the world. And so what we're talking about,
I hope is not controversial. And look, downtown, I think
you're spot on. Downtown Boston is a transit hub as well,
So we have more foot traffic coming through downtown than
(24:51):
anywhere else in New England, right, and so it's an
easy place to come into to get out of and
that's that's good in general, but when you're talking about
criminal activity the focus of our conversation, it also makes
it a lot more attractive to, you know, hang out
later on the Boston Common because you can get away
on the subways, you can go into the elevators, you
can hide in the headhouses, and so there's a lot
(25:13):
of ingress egress opportunity in and around the Common, which
just makes it that much more challenging. And finally, from
a law enforcement perspective, you've got Boston Police, MBT, Transit Police,
STUFFOC and Emerson Police departments. You have a lot of
different jurisdictional challenges you had to deal with as well.
The park rangers as well, which is another opportunity. But
it's a really complicated issue, which means that our leaders
(25:35):
need to spend more time and devote more attention to
the problem here. And so I would very much like
to see our mayor, our city council, the leaders of
all the public health and safety agencies come together with
the civic leaders, with all the business stakeholders and say,
put us out of the partnership, put us ode election year. Nonsense,
let's actually fixed the damn issue. Part in the language there.
(25:58):
It's just it's an infuriating thing when you go to
a city council hearing and you get four out of
thirteen people to show up, and you have one city
councilor or maybe two, you know, I would say counselor
Flint and a few others have been hammering home this point.
We need more officers, we do a better job, and
then you have others who it seems like are completely
disconnected from reality in terms of what the issues are.
And so this is one of these issues that I
(26:20):
think is so important to so many people, and it's
struck an earth. We had three hundred and twenty residents
and business owners respond to our survey. We have a
thousand members. Right to put in perspective, we've never gotten
three hundred people to respond to anything, you know, at
best we get fifty to one hundred people to reply
to things. And so this is a this is a
really really important wake up moment that that I hope
(26:42):
hits home with with our city and state leaders. And
I'm not going to step down until we get the
attention that this deserves.
Speaker 2 (26:50):
But by the way, the survey that you're referring to
was mentioned in Joe Venaki's piece and The Globe Today
that of the three hundred residents who respond to a
survey like Downtown Boston Neighborhood Association, seventy one percent reported
feeling less safe in the area of the Common.
Speaker 3 (27:11):
They let that sink in, right, That's that's a crazy number,
and hugely eight percent of the people said there's no
change in their perception of safety. So you know what
I said last week is I don't know where people
were mentally a year ago at the beginning of the year.
No change. Let's assume it's average. That's still a ridiculous number, right,
seventy one percent of people. And when you ask the
same question or how urgent you think this matter is
(27:32):
public safety on the Boston Common, ninety three percent of
people who responded give it a seven, eight, nine or ten. Right,
This is a very urgent issue. So this is some
anecdotal thing where we're fair mongering, as some city councilors
want to suggest. That's not what this is. And I
agree with what you set up front, and Joan mentioned this,
We are one of the safest cities in the country.
When you specifically talk about homicides and violent crime. What
(27:56):
that does not include are all these other qualities of
life issues, right, the petty theft, it's the intimidation, right,
it's the needles, it's the children who are seeing violence.
Those are things that people don't measure, they don't talk about,
and those are just convenient left out of the conversation.
So I take issue when I hear our elected officials
fight that statistic over and over and over as a
(28:17):
rebuttal to you know, residents and people who are raising
the issue for all the rifle reasons.
Speaker 2 (28:22):
Well, from where I'm sitting and I no longer live
in Boston, but I watched the city council and with
two or three exceptions, Ed Flynn being probably primary amongst
the city councilors who really like his dad, care about
the city. I was a TV reporter when ray Flynn
was mayor, and I mean there wasn't a fire in
(28:43):
the city that Ray Flynn didn't get to, okay, and
he was there to support the community. And I mean
it's that sort of leadership that we're missing now. Tom Andino.
You knew that Tom Menino had no political aspirations beyond mayor,
that he he would you know, finish his career in
(29:03):
city Hall, and that was his goal. I don't know
that the current mayor, and I'm not here to bash
the current mayor is going to be a long term mayor.
I think that she probably has eyes on other offices,
and that's not good. I mean the city of Boston,
the mayor of Boston, that should be a person who
(29:26):
was committed. You know. Again, I go back to the
days of Kevin White, who served four terms as mayor
at a very critical time in Boston, from the late
sixties through all of the nineteen seventies when frankly, the
Back Bay was not what it is today. Believe me,
(29:48):
it changed, and it changed for the better because of
Kevin White, Ray Flynn who was elected three times, and
then Tominino who was elected five times. We were blessed
with those mayors and Marty Walsh also very connected to
the city. I got to take one more break, and
I will invite anyone to call and offer their thoughts
(30:11):
on traveling into Boston. We're changing topics at ten o'clock,
so if you want to get in, now's the time.
Six one, seven, two, five, four, ten, thirty six one seven,
nine three one ten thirty. You know, many people will
say to me, where you going to do this topic?
You got to do that topic. This is a topic
that affects everybody. If you live in the suburbs and
you want to commit occasionally to go to to see
(30:33):
a play or to go to a ball game, you
want to feel secure in coming into Boston. I don't
feel as secure as I once did. Uh, And I
think most people agree with me, not only people in
your survey who spend time and live in the area
of the Boston Common but for those of us who
come in and go to restaurants and go to theater districts,
(30:53):
it's become less and less and eventually that will cost
this city badly. We'll be back on nights. I feel
free join the car conversation right after this. My guest
on the line delighted to have with me, Ricchi Shukla.
He's the co founder of the Downtown Boston Neighborhood Association
and he has been very candid in his comments Tonight
back on Nightside after this.
Speaker 1 (31:14):
Now back to Dan Ray live from the Window World
Nightside Studios on WBZ News Radio.
Speaker 2 (31:23):
With me is Ricchi Sulkla Recchi. There's a, there's a
great website called universal Hub, and I was just looking
at it. Uh. A guy who was charged with shooting
eight in pre carnival gun battle shot eight people, removes
his GPS device and flees on eve of his trial.
(31:44):
Uh Uh. Boston police put out an APB for Gerald Vick,
who didn't show up at Suffolk Superior Court for his
scheduled trial yesterday, meaning December two, on charges he shot
eight people, not two, not four, not six, eight people
during the carnival celebration in August of twenty twenty three.
(32:04):
He had been held on six thousand dollars bail and
ordered to home confinement. He cut off his GPS and
left town. I hold that at the at the feet
of the District Attorney's office, that's for sure. Kevin Hayden,
wake up. Let me go to Brian in Somerville. Hey, Brian, welcome,
you are on with Richie Schukell. Go right ahead, Brian, Hey,
(32:28):
good evening.
Speaker 6 (32:29):
I run into make two points. Longtime Boston resident, lived
in the South End for eight years now in Summerville,
right near Davis Square. I see a lot of parallels
from what Richie's describing and what we are experiencing around
Davis Square. We opened a methadone clinic last year. It's
brought some of that kind of noise and friction into
(32:49):
the community. A lot of neighborhoods are now popping up
individual groups that are routinely giving feedback to our local mayor.
I wonder if there's parallels from other towns that are
experiencing some of the stuff around subways, around common areas
like here at Stavis Square and Porter Square and some
of what you're experiencing in Boston, and maybe there's collaboration
opportunities with some people who are trying innovative approaches to
(33:12):
address some of these things.
Speaker 2 (33:13):
Okay, let's see what Richie has to say. Racie, did
you hear Brian's comments? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (33:17):
Thanks, thanks for the question. I think there's absolutely a
need for us to what i'd say, be less insulid
here in the Boston area and learn from other parts
of our state and our country, by the way, in
terms of what else we can be doing to improve
the situation. I think what we're describing Summerville, I mean,
there's there there are trade offs to you know, to
(33:38):
be well understood in terms of setting up clinics, thinking
about different approaches to the housing. All of this is interconnected. Obviously,
it's multi dimensional. And so I don't know that we
have the luxury of experimenting anymore here in Boston. And
so I think root cause issues. You know, you started
off down with the this person who was charged with
(34:00):
shooting eight people? In what world do we let somebody
out on bill who has done that? That is that
is apparently absurd, right, I mean, it was just attorney
to do that.
Speaker 2 (34:12):
But but the bail was six thousand dollars. I mean,
if you're shooting eight people, I'm assuming you can probably
come up with the six thousand dollars, which he did.
They put him on a GPS. I just happened to
notice that article. And what does that say about the
District Attorney's office in Boston?
Speaker 3 (34:28):
That basic the agenda, you know, the same nobody. Nobody
elected somebody to do that. Nobody. I don't know of
any reasonab people who say, hey, that's a great idea,
let's let's put the way back on the street after
shooting eight people. I mean.
Speaker 6 (34:44):
Topic, thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (34:46):
It's thank and thank you for calling in. And you
can if you read Joan Venaki's piece in the Globe today.
I'm sure you get in touch with them, Rishi Shukla
uh and maybe uh maybe coordinate. Well that's an example.
It's funny. I'm looking at the Boston murders, and the
murders are down, but since July in Boston and most
(35:08):
of the murders occur in Roxby, Dorchester, Mattapean sadly. July
fifth man shot to death July in Roxbury. July fifth,
two shot in Mattapean, one dies. July fourteenth man shot
to death in Arborway near Forest Hill Station. August fourth
man shot to death in Roxbury and Amory Terrace. August
(35:29):
twelfth to shot, one dead in an apartment street in
an apartment on Trent Street. In Dorchester. Men stabbed to
death near Ashboon station on August twenty third. August twenty
fourth man shot to death, Dorchester, Washington Street. September second,
double shooting in Dorchester at a barbershot. One man is dead.
(35:50):
The twenty third man shot at Mildred Haley apartments September
excuse me, September twenty three. September twenty ninth man shot
dead on Come Highway in Mattapan October eighth, another October eighteenth,
eleven five, eleven eight. We've had fifteen people shot to
(36:10):
death in the last six months. We had a handful
in the first six months of this year. That's a
bad trend. That's a very bad trend.
Speaker 3 (36:21):
Look, you haven't even covered the NBTA crime stats, right,
So what when you really understand the data, then you
would look at everything you just described and then you
would say, Okay, what aren't we including in this that
is also violent or near homicide type statistics?
Speaker 4 (36:35):
Right?
Speaker 3 (36:36):
What we're not also talking about is, you know, are
these occurring closer to hospitals? Are we changing how first
responders deal with bullet wounds? So those fundamentally change how
statistics are are logged. And so if you talk to
officers about these things, I mean they'll tell you s
plot out right the way you captured data and you
want to you know, analyze it and publicize it. It's funcible, right,
(36:58):
Ultimately you can do what you want with um and
the time horizon matters. You know, how you sample, how
you cut it. You can spend numbers all day long.
But I think practically what you just cited, I mean
it's it's the poor reflection on the state of our city.
So if we're down one homicide or two, that's not
the point here. It's the totality of violent crime homicides.
The trend lines look generally better in Boston compared to
(37:21):
the rest of the country. That's great, but you know,
left unchecked some of these other issues that we're talking about.
You don't go rob a convenience storic gunpoint. That's not
your first act of being a criminal, right, You're a
hardened criminal at that point, And so we need to
get these types of folks off our streets. That's I
hope that's not controversial, and I think most folks who
(37:41):
are voted.
Speaker 2 (37:42):
For our some some people would consider it to be controversial.
I do not, by the way, just from a point
of that, the first six months of this year, five
people were murdered in Boston. In the last six months,
well the first six months of the year, in the
last five months fifteen, that's a bad trend. That's a
bad trend line. And when we see what's going on,
(38:05):
do me a favorite, Richie. Rob will give you my
direct line, keep me posted and we'll have you back.
I think this is an important conversation because Boston Common
is really, in many ways the heart of this city,
and I want to do whatever we can do to
give you as much oxygen on this issue as possible.
Joe Vanaki wrote a great piece in the Globe today.
(38:26):
I think we've had a good conversation tonight, and thank
you for joining us. Stay there. Rob will give you
my direct lines and we can talk anytime off air.
Speaker 3 (38:35):
Okay, thanks to appreciate you covering the important topic.
Speaker 2 (38:38):
You're very welcome. You're very welcome. Rob. Give him the
direct line. We come back. We're going to talk with
a gentleman who we talked to two or three weeks ago.
He has visited stadiums in twenty four countries around the world,
upwards of twenty five hundred professional sports stadiums. Where do
(38:58):
you hear, sir? His story? Come back on night's side
right after the ten little bit of a change of
pace here on a cold December night,
It's Night Side with Dan Ray I WBZ, Boston's radio beggar.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Dan Watkins appreciated so reading the Boston Globe this morning,
as I do every morning. First I read the Sports page,
my favorite part of the Globe, and then I go
to the news in the Metro section, and a very
interesting piece by Joan Venaki, a good friend of mine,
a colleague for many years. We grew up sort of
as reporters in this city. And she's listening tonight. I
(00:27):
hope you feel a little bit better. She told us
she couldn't join us tonight because she was a little
under the weather. Hope're feeling better, Joan mass and cast
drug and homeless problems moved to Boston Common. Boston Common.
That is the headline in the op ed piece on
a eleven in the Boston Globe today. And I'm just
gonna read a little bit and then set it up
for people who do not know what I'm talking about,
(00:48):
and we'll be talking a moment with Rishi Sukla, who's
with the Downtown Boston Neighborhood Association. She starts off her article,
which I found it to be really an interesting article.
Joan wrote this morning a year ago, Boston Mayor Michelle
wou oversaw the peaceful dismantling of the area around Massachusetts
(01:10):
Avenue and Melina Cass Boulevard, the epicenter of the city's
homeless and opioid crisis. So what's known as Mass and Cass,
what's happening now around Boston Common is more evidence that
the problems associated with Mass and Casts have not disappeared.
They have just dispersed. And there are many people who,
(01:32):
myself included, do not feel that Boston is as friendly
and as walkable as city, particularly at night, as it
once was. Now again, we have a homeless crisis in
this country. Boston is affected like every other city. We
have a huge drug problem in this country. And we
(01:55):
saw it at masson Cass and for years, for years,
and it was allowed to stay there, to grow, to fester,
and finally, finally it was dispersed. So my question, which
I'm going to open up to the conversation is for
(02:16):
those of you who come to Boston, do you come
into the city as often as you used to do
a few years ago. I mean, there's a lot of
problems with Boston right now. Okay, it's got a financial problem,
it has a services problem, it has a school bus problem,
it has an MBTA problem. We've talked about that, it
(02:39):
has too many bike lanes. We've talked about that. But
now the problem that some people are beginning to talk
about is what's it like around the Boston Common that
is the jewel of this city. And you can talk
about the Rose Fitzgerald Greenway, which is beautiful, we can
talk about Arnold Arboretum, but in terms of the Common,
(03:03):
it sits really dead center in Boston, bounded on on
one side by Beacon Street, the other side by Tremont
Street and Charles Street. Uh at it's at the base
of the Statehouse, the seat of government. Uh and it
is a place that most people think of as Boston.
We had asked some folks if they wanted to join us,
(03:26):
uh and the first one who is joining us tonight
as a representative of the Downtown Boston Neighborhood Association, uh
Richi Shukla, was quoted in today's piece by Joan Vanaki.
Uh and and Rieschi has joined us. Richie Schulkla, welcome
(03:46):
to Night's side. Your your perspective on this, you are
quoted in Joan Vanaki's piece this morning, I'm going to
bring Ricchi up here, uh to talk with You're quoted
in the Peace by Joean Vanaki this morning as saying
it is a beautiful and precious jewel. We need to
keep it that way. However, joe Vanaki writes, he said
(04:09):
an uptick in open air drug dealing over the past
six months, which he attributed to the dislocation of the
mass and cast population, has changed the atmosphere. Welcome to Nightside.
Speaker 3 (04:19):
How are you, Richie, Dan, great good Evan. Thanks for
having me.
Speaker 2 (04:23):
You're very welcome. First all, tell us the Downtown Boston
Neighborhood Association. What groove do you represent?
Speaker 3 (04:29):
Sure thing?
Speaker 4 (04:30):
So.
Speaker 3 (04:30):
We are a volunteer led group of residents, business owners,
property owners, effectively stakeholders here in Downtown Boston that try
to give voice to residents and all the other stakeholders
who are living here and doing business here, go to
school here. And our goal is simple. We care about
one thing only, which is to improve the quality of
life for folks who are living here and working here
(04:51):
and trying to do business here and doing everything we
can to have great relations with city Hall and with
our partners in state government to do those sorts of thanks,
whether it's planning and development, or it's thinking about zoning
and permitting or public safety. You know, we care a
lot about the total situation and packageer in downtown. So
we you know, again volunteers with what a thousand residents
(05:12):
and members who are part of this group, and this
is that's an important istion to us.
Speaker 2 (05:16):
Okay, So, as someone who lives downtown, do you work
downtown as well?
Speaker 3 (05:21):
I do. I own my own company. I've lived in
Boston the last twenty five years college, grad school, and
so you know, I do a lot here in downtown.
I've got two young kids, my wife and I live
here as well, so we're doing a lot here in downtown.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
Right, So you're heavily invested. And again, were you quoted
accurately in Joevanaki's piece today. I just read the quote
and her characterization of your comments.
Speaker 3 (05:44):
Yeah. Look, I think that's exactly right. But the Boston
comment is absolutely a jewel of our city, and I
think the deterioration that we've seen is highly problematic and
it's obvious what the issues are.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
So you attributed to the to the dispersal of the
folks who had set up shop and been allowed to
operate at mass and casts for many years. What again,
I happen to agree with you, but I'd love to
know describe to us and to my audience. You know
what you've seen, what you have seen, what you've experienced.
Speaker 3 (06:18):
Yeah, great, great questioning. Look, I'm in the park every
single day of the year, you know, but for traveling holidays,
I've got I've got a puppy. You got two young
kids who walked to the bus stop. So I probably
walked three or four miles through the Boston Common and
through downtown every single day. And so I you know,
I see it and I experienced it. So I'll tell
you this. At six am, if you go out front
of walk your dog in the park, you avoid parts
(06:39):
of the park because you know there's going to be
human waste, needles, you might be encountering folks with mental
health disorder or substance use disorder, and it's just not
a it's not a safe place for you or your
pet with your children. You know, we've had stabbings at
eight o'clock in the morning. Kids are on the way
to school witnessing these sorts of things. I would say
in the last couple of weeks, the Boston Police has
(07:00):
stepped up its efforts to try to clear out some
of these areas. But as Joe said, you know, dislocating
issues and diversion, it's it's you know, it's abandoned, right,
it's a temporary solution, and so that's not going to
be what causes us to improve the situation long term.
I'm on the border of Saint francisous for the largest
day shelter in Massachusetts, from the largest in the country,
and so when you talk to outreach workers and you
(07:22):
think about, you know, the work that's being done by
the city and others the shelters, you kind of know
the populations that are you know, fairly permanent fixtures so
to speak. Here in the downtown area, the homeless population,
and then you've got a large number of new folks
who come in here from the mass and cast population,
and with that have come a lot of issues that
are you know, all kind of highlighted in Jones piece here,
(07:44):
and that's that's what we're talking about.
Speaker 2 (07:46):
So I I'm very familiar with Boston common For many years,
I too lived in the Back Bay, worked as a
television reporter in Boston for WBS see for thirty one years.
I know the city in my sense on the more
rare occasions that I find myself on the Boston Common,
(08:11):
it is not as comfortable a place as it was
a few years ago. I see it, you know, again,
every couple of months or so. You see it virtually
every day. What's the solution?
Speaker 3 (08:30):
Yeah, Den, It's complicated, right, and I think you know,
I was at the hearing last week. I testified, and
my comment is that this is one of these unique
situations that ordinary people cannot solve on our own right.
We can't make public policy, we can't enforce the laws,
we can't arrest, we can't force folks into treatment. So
we absolutely need our city and state leaders in this case,
(08:51):
and the District Attorney's office frankly, to step up, do
their jobs more effectively, and to convene and collaborate. What
I view, you know, is this being a vacuum of leadership,
and it's not acceptable. So for folks who've lived here
and who call downtown in Boston home. This isn't just,
as you know, just a downtown issue. I mean, this
issue is spread across South Station Logan Airport, Andrews circling
(09:12):
in South Boston. It's in different parts of our cities.
We're simply moving the issue around, which again not a solution.
Things that are more permanent solutions are reopening the Long
Island Campus, right, so for listeners who aren't aware of it,
you know, that's a place where folks used to be
able to go to get treatment and to be rehabilitated
and to come out and start their lives over again.
And we haven't had that solution for some time, and
(09:33):
so having that accelerated and reopened I think would be
a great outcome. I think having the Boston Police be
able to arrest the most violent of criminals and to
be confident that the District Attorney has their backs in
terms of prosecuting. They're really have criminals. We're all talking
about people who are you know, walking out of Roach
(09:54):
Brothers or Star Market with a loaf of bread to
feed their family. Nobody wants to see those people reprimand
and sentenced to you know, a life of hardship because
of one active of you know, quote unquote criminal activity.
That's not what we're talking about. We're talking about people
who are pushing fentandel people who are you know, gang
on gang violence, who are praying on the homeless. Those
(10:15):
are the people who need to be taken off our street.
And the District Attorney's office is Bill Margie's ballent on
this issue, and so we're trying to convene our city
state officials that try to do more on this issue.
We do a lot with the Boston Police, right they
are doing everything in their control is my view, in
my opinion, to try to resolve this issue right in
a in a dignified way, but they only have so
(10:35):
much power if if you.
Speaker 2 (10:37):
Know, they have to be back, they have to be
backed by the attorney. Let let me do this, Reachie.
Let me let me take a break here for a
couple of commercial messages, and I'll invite people to join
the conversation. I think I mean virtually agreement with everything
that you have said, because there are these quality of
life crimes, these quality of life experience sariances where you're
(11:01):
walking downtown with a couple of kids and someone's trying
to come up and get in your face, either to
confront you or to bake for money, and at some
point it has to be stopped. I think there needs
to be a much bigger undercover police presence on the Common,
(11:21):
so that so that it's people you know, can feel
safer as they move from, you know, around It's a
beautiful area. I just think that that once you lose it,
once you lose the Common. We've seen this uptick of
crime in New York City. Anybody who goes to New
York City, in my opinion these days, is nuts because
(11:45):
you have people who have been murdered on the streets
of New York for no apparent reason. We've looked at
people who have serious mental health problems from a society
point of view, and again I have a lot more
to say. Let me take a break. If you'd like
to join the conversation. My guest is Rishi Shukla. He's
with the Downtown Boston Neighborhood Association. Obviously very well spoken,
(12:08):
very conversant with the area. I'd love to hear from you.
If you want to add to what Rishi is saying,
or if you want to disagree, you are more than
welcome to have a good conversation here on Nightside, because
once we lose Boston Common, we're going to lose a
big important section of the city and it's just not
(12:28):
wealthy people who live in the upper ends of Beacon
Street or on Beacon Hill. It is a place where
everyone should feel welcome. Six one, seven, two, five, four,
ten thirty six one seven, nine, three, one, ten thirty.
Those are the two numbers that will get you on.
We'll be back on night Side talking about safety, crime
on the Boston Common and generally in Boston. I think
(12:49):
Boston statistically is going in It has a lot to
be proud of. The murder rate in Boston is down.
But whatever decisions and policies and programs have been used
in some parts of the city to cut the murder
rate down, that again, that police presence has to be
(13:10):
spread throughout the city. And let's start with the Boston Common.
Back on Nightside right after this.
Speaker 1 (13:16):
Now back to Dan Ray live from the Window World
night Side Studios on w b Z the News Radio.
Speaker 2 (13:23):
We'll talk with Ricky Scholka, who was quoted today in
Joe Venaki's piece in the Boston Globe. Mass and cast,
drug and homeless problems moved to Boston Common. Rischi is
the co founder of the Downtown Boston Neighborhood Association. If
you'd like to join the conversation. I'm with you, Richie.
I think that a lot of times the most important
(13:47):
part of this Boston city is ignored. Let's go to
Chris in Boston see what he has to say. Chris, welcome.
You're on a night side with Dan Ray along with
Rishi Sholka, co founder of the Downtown Boston Neighborhood Association.
Your thoughts on the issue we're talking about, and specifically
Joevenaki's call him in the Globe today?
Speaker 4 (14:04):
Absolutely good? Even Dan, how you doing this evening?
Speaker 2 (14:08):
Good? Doing great?
Speaker 4 (14:09):
Chris, That's good. It's getting really cold, and I'm getting
really worried about the people out in the streets of Boston.
For many years, I've been called Boston the city of
broken dreams, and ever since Maji Menino died, it's just
now get to the point it scares me. And it's
proven to the point that when I call Boston the
(14:30):
city of broken dreams, it's starting to show more and more.
Speaker 2 (14:34):
Okay, so what is your experience been, Chris. I know
you've called me before, but refresh my recollection. Are you
involved in any of these issues? You know, either either good,
bad or indifferent?
Speaker 5 (14:47):
Well, you know, everything's getting expensive, and then it comes
to the working class. Now it's becoming to be the poor,
to the point that all he's doing is pushing people
out in the reads. And for example, when you see
mass and casts, these people are out there are just
like once like us, but because they're facing problems, they're like,
(15:12):
you know, well, who cares, I'm going to do drugs, I'm.
Speaker 4 (15:14):
Going to hang out in the streets.
Speaker 5 (15:16):
I can't afford rent, you know, I can't afford anything,
because you know, everything's so difficult these days. And then
you got and then you got news media out there
during the news before talking about well if this person's
in the poors and this and that, y'ah, yeah, I'm
sitting there like well, ain't got the mayor's responsibilities. As
(15:37):
she said before she became mayor, that hey, this is Boston,
the city for the people, meaning it's supposed to be
sitting for the people. It don't matter if you're rich
or working class, supposed to take care of everybody, just
like how.
Speaker 2 (15:53):
And obviously you need people with all sorts of skill sets.
You and I agree on that. So you know, when
you need college professors and you need doctors, and you
need lawyers, but you also need plumbers and electricians. Uh.
And you know there are there are older people, there
are people who have disabilities, there are people who have
addiction problems. You're right, it's a it's a it's a
(16:16):
very complicated population. So what do you think we could
do in the short run or in the long run
that would get us back to maybe how what the
feel of Boston was when Tom Monina was mayor. He's
not coming back, obviously.
Speaker 4 (16:31):
I know, I know, and I miss him. See Tom
took pride. That's the good thing about Tom Menino. That's
why he was the run as long as mayor, because
he cared about the people in Boston.
Speaker 2 (16:44):
By the way, By the way, I just want to Chris,
let me agree with you. He had no political aspirations
beyond being mayor. He was that to him was the
most important job in the world. But what what do
you think needs to be done? Just tell me that,
and then I got to get you got a break
for new Go ahead, tell me what what you if
you're mayor? What would you see? How did you see done?
Speaker 4 (17:05):
I really wish Boston become more of a diversity for
everybody that is not being so divided? Am I making
sense here?
Speaker 2 (17:13):
Well? You are, But the problem is right now, So
what do you do for people we're talking about the
Boston Common. What do you do for people who are
addicted and who are you're sleeping on park benches in
the Boston Common or whatever and getting into trouble? Uh
do you do you have? Do you open up more shelters? Uh?
Do you do you bring the police? I think one
(17:34):
of the things you can do is bring undercovered police
officers into the common to make sure that people feel
a little safer if you're coming in with your kids
or your wife, your husband, you know, do that on
the one hand, so you're you're maintaining some order. At
the same time, try to get people who do have
these addiction problems into programs that can help them get
(17:57):
rid of.
Speaker 4 (17:57):
Them exactly like help out the people that struggle and
get them out the streets.
Speaker 5 (18:02):
You know, I believe, strongly believe knowledge is but to
say that nobody doesn't deserve the stuff one to be
out in the streets as.
Speaker 4 (18:08):
Human beings to we all got to take k each.
Speaker 5 (18:10):
Other because that's what God wants all of us to do.
If we all God's children, I don't see if you're
rich poor, I don't care what political We all got
to take k each other and that's there.
Speaker 2 (18:20):
There are some people, though, Chris, who was who? And
I think you might agree, you might disagree. You can
tell me I'm right, you can tell me I'm wrong.
There are some people out there who were so so
deep into addiction or or who have such mental health
issues they don't want I've talked to people when I
was a reporter. They they didn't want to go to
the Pine Street end. They prefer to sleep over a
(18:44):
great uh as long as they they didn't want to
be bothered. They didn't want to be bothered by anybody.
They wanted to do their own thing. How do you
reach those people?
Speaker 4 (18:54):
Well, they don't want to be in a jam pack
well shelter where there's issues and problem.
Speaker 2 (19:00):
Right, what do you do with them? You can't put
them up in the rich Carlton, Nope.
Speaker 5 (19:07):
It has to be a development to build housing for
these type of people to have roof over their head
and get some type of treatment of help in many
different ways.
Speaker 2 (19:18):
All right, Chris, Chris, I hate to do this, but
we've we're flat up against the nine thirty news. So
I got a break, but as always, thank you for listening,
thank you for calling, thank you for providing your perspective
to my show.
Speaker 5 (19:31):
Absolutely God bless you.
Speaker 2 (19:32):
Dan Wright. Back at you, Chris, Merry Christmas. Okay, get
you there all right? Uh we will continue, Uh, Richie.
I I wanted to deal with Chris myself. I could
have put him on with you. But what I'm looking
for is I want to get some callers for you.
(19:53):
People maybe see some of the same problems that you
see related to the and what needs to be done. Again,
talk is cheap, but I think some I specifically throw
out that we should have more undercover police officers on
the Common throughout the day, more at night than necessarily
(20:18):
during the day, but twenty four hours a day, just
to make sure that people are safe, because if people
aren't safe, nothing will will will destroy the city more
quickly than that. I'd like to talk with you about
that when we come back. We got to take quick
news breaks, So think about that. And if you agree
with me, Recie, great, If you don't feel free, We're
(20:40):
just struggling for ideas here tonight, how to make how
to make sure that Boston Common doesn't turn into the
next massive gas Back on Nightside right after the news
I got some open line six one, seven, two, five,
four ten thirty six, one seven, nine three ten thirty
Back on night Side right after.
Speaker 1 (20:55):
This night Side with Dan Ray, Boston's News Radio.
Speaker 2 (21:04):
My guest is Richie Schukele, co founder of the Downtown
Boston Neighborhood Association, and he is concerned about what has
been going on at the at the Boston Common. Richie,
we have some problems in Boston that that apparently today
(21:24):
there is a member of the City Council who's now
under investigation for some reason by the Justice Department, by
the US Attorney's Office. That is never helpful because you
never know where those sorts of investigations lead. Do you
sense or do you get a sense that the people
(21:45):
in city Hall, from the mayor on down are spending
any time on the Common? They are they seeing how
how people are behaving as to what it's like over there.
You know, again, I realized that the Common is an extraordin,
really important part of the city, but the city has
made up of many, many neighborhoods other than the Common.
(22:05):
People again, in positions of leadership, spending the time they
need to to understand what's going on in the common.
Speaker 3 (22:14):
I think the quick answer is absolutely not. We we
have a lot of things we had to worry about
in Boston, obviously, and I think with the councilor obviously
what the process tickets course, and let's see what comes
with this.
Speaker 2 (22:26):
But that is I'm not convicted. I'm not convicting anybody.
But at the same time, right when that happens, I've
seen this movie before. It's sometimes no, no, well, look
it's not it's not helpful.
Speaker 3 (22:39):
We're looking for leadership. Having these sources of issues pop
up what seems to be every three or four months
in the city council, that's just not good. It's not helpful,
it's not effective. We had a hearing last week and
we had a total of four city councilors show up
to the hearing. Right, we had the sponsor, we had
the chair, and we had two other counselors show up.
Speaker 2 (22:58):
That's, by the way, for those you know, that's a
thirteen member city council. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (23:03):
I couldn't say how disappointed I was. And to schedule
it on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. This isn't my first rodeo.
I mean, you can't bury this story. That's not something
that I'm going to allow as leader here in downtown.
I'm a volunteer. Look, I have no agenda, i have
no two to four year commitment. I'm not beholden to
a term. I'm just the guy who's trying to get
things done on behalf of people who live are most
importantly my kids. And so what I take issue with
(23:26):
is the lack of focus, sustained leadership. I can't tell
you how many conversations I've had with folks in law enforcement.
It's not just the Boston police, who are just fed
up with a couple of things. One, it's so hard
to recruit good men and women who want to be
officers in Boston because of all the things that have
gone on for the last four or five years. So
there's a moral issue, and it's hard to get talented.
And number two, you're trying to do your job as
(23:48):
an officer only to have folks like the District Attorney's
office go back and send people back to the street
with no repercussion, it seems. And so that's demoralizing. I mean,
who wants that? And so for my you know, being
the mayor, of Boston is you're the chief executive. Your job,
in my opinion, and the governor it's the same thing,
is to convene all of the leaders. Your executives are
(24:10):
the city and state agencies that make policy and that
govern public health and public safety. They need to be
walked up in a room with that said, in the
hearing until we figure out the three or four things
we can do to actually fix the problem on the
Boston Common and by the way, with Pike Session, that
impacts the rest of the city. So what's good for
one citizen here should be good for everybody, is my view.
And I don't care if that's the museum issue that
(24:31):
you know, folks you're talking about with kids in Boston
versus private schools versus all that. Everything that we do
as a city should be good for everybody. That's my
general view of the world. And so what we're talking about,
I hope is not controversial. And look, downtown, I think
you're spot on. Downtown Boston is a transit hub as well,
So we have more foot traffic coming through downtown than
(24:51):
anywhere else in New England, right, and so it's an
easy place to come into to get out of and
that's that's good in general, but when you're talking about
criminal activity the focus of our conversation, it also makes
it a lot more attractive to, you know, hang out
later on the Boston Common because you can get away
on the subways, you can go into the elevators, you
can hide in the headhouses, and so there's a lot
(25:13):
of ingress egress opportunity in and around the Common, which
just makes it that much more challenging. And finally, from
a law enforcement perspective, you've got Boston Police, MBT, Transit Police,
STUFFOC and Emerson Police departments. You have a lot of
different jurisdictional challenges you had to deal with as well.
The park rangers as well, which is another opportunity. But
it's a really complicated issue, which means that our leaders
(25:35):
need to spend more time and devote more attention to
the problem here. And so I would very much like
to see our mayor, our city council, the leaders of
all the public health and safety agencies come together with
the civic leaders, with all the business stakeholders and say,
put us out of the partnership, put us ode election year. Nonsense,
let's actually fixed the damn issue. Part in the language there.
(25:58):
It's just it's an infuriating thing when you go to
a city council hearing and you get four out of
thirteen people to show up, and you have one city
councilor or maybe two, you know, I would say counselor
Flint and a few others have been hammering home this point.
We need more officers, we do a better job, and
then you have others who it seems like are completely
disconnected from reality in terms of what the issues are.
And so this is one of these issues that I
(26:20):
think is so important to so many people, and it's
struck an earth. We had three hundred and twenty residents
and business owners respond to our survey. We have a
thousand members. Right to put in perspective, we've never gotten
three hundred people to respond to anything, you know, at
best we get fifty to one hundred people to reply
to things. And so this is a this is a
really really important wake up moment that that I hope
(26:42):
hits home with with our city and state leaders. And
I'm not going to step down until we get the
attention that this deserves.
Speaker 2 (26:50):
But by the way, the survey that you're referring to
was mentioned in Joe Venaki's piece and The Globe Today
that of the three hundred residents who respond to a
survey like Downtown Boston Neighborhood Association, seventy one percent reported
feeling less safe in the area of the Common.
Speaker 3 (27:11):
They let that sink in, right, That's that's a crazy number,
and hugely eight percent of the people said there's no
change in their perception of safety. So you know what
I said last week is I don't know where people
were mentally a year ago at the beginning of the year.
No change. Let's assume it's average. That's still a ridiculous number, right,
seventy one percent of people. And when you ask the
same question or how urgent you think this matter is
(27:32):
public safety on the Boston Common, ninety three percent of
people who responded give it a seven, eight, nine or ten. Right,
This is a very urgent issue. So this is some
anecdotal thing where we're fair mongering, as some city councilors
want to suggest. That's not what this is. And I
agree with what you set up front, and Joan mentioned this,
We are one of the safest cities in the country.
When you specifically talk about homicides and violent crime. What
(27:56):
that does not include are all these other qualities of
life issues, right, the petty theft, it's the intimidation, right,
it's the needles, it's the children who are seeing violence.
Those are things that people don't measure, they don't talk about,
and those are just convenient left out of the conversation.
So I take issue when I hear our elected officials
fight that statistic over and over and over as a
(28:17):
rebuttal to you know, residents and people who are raising
the issue for all the rifle reasons.
Speaker 2 (28:22):
Well, from where I'm sitting and I no longer live
in Boston, but I watched the city council and with
two or three exceptions, Ed Flynn being probably primary amongst
the city councilors who really like his dad, care about
the city. I was a TV reporter when ray Flynn
was mayor, and I mean there wasn't a fire in
(28:43):
the city that Ray Flynn didn't get to, okay, and
he was there to support the community. And I mean
it's that sort of leadership that we're missing now. Tom Andino.
You knew that Tom Menino had no political aspirations beyond mayor,
that he he would you know, finish his career in
(29:03):
city Hall, and that was his goal. I don't know
that the current mayor, and I'm not here to bash
the current mayor is going to be a long term mayor.
I think that she probably has eyes on other offices,
and that's not good. I mean the city of Boston,
the mayor of Boston, that should be a person who
(29:26):
was committed. You know. Again, I go back to the
days of Kevin White, who served four terms as mayor
at a very critical time in Boston, from the late
sixties through all of the nineteen seventies when frankly, the
Back Bay was not what it is today. Believe me,
(29:48):
it changed, and it changed for the better because of
Kevin White, Ray Flynn who was elected three times, and
then Tominino who was elected five times. We were blessed
with those mayors and Marty Walsh also very connected to
the city. I got to take one more break, and
I will invite anyone to call and offer their thoughts
(30:11):
on traveling into Boston. We're changing topics at ten o'clock,
so if you want to get in, now's the time.
Six one, seven, two, five, four, ten, thirty six one seven,
nine three one ten thirty. You know, many people will
say to me, where you going to do this topic?
You got to do that topic. This is a topic
that affects everybody. If you live in the suburbs and
you want to commit occasionally to go to to see
(30:33):
a play or to go to a ball game, you
want to feel secure in coming into Boston. I don't
feel as secure as I once did. Uh, And I
think most people agree with me, not only people in
your survey who spend time and live in the area
of the Boston Common but for those of us who
come in and go to restaurants and go to theater districts,
(30:53):
it's become less and less and eventually that will cost
this city badly. We'll be back on nights. I feel
free join the car conversation right after this. My guest
on the line delighted to have with me, Ricchi Shukla.
He's the co founder of the Downtown Boston Neighborhood Association
and he has been very candid in his comments Tonight
back on Nightside after this.
Speaker 1 (31:14):
Now back to Dan Ray live from the Window World
Nightside Studios on WBZ News Radio.
Speaker 2 (31:23):
With me is Ricchi Sulkla Recchi. There's a, there's a
great website called universal Hub, and I was just looking
at it. Uh. A guy who was charged with shooting
eight in pre carnival gun battle shot eight people, removes
his GPS device and flees on eve of his trial.
(31:44):
Uh Uh. Boston police put out an APB for Gerald Vick,
who didn't show up at Suffolk Superior Court for his
scheduled trial yesterday, meaning December two, on charges he shot
eight people, not two, not four, not six, eight people
during the carnival celebration in August of twenty twenty three.
(32:04):
He had been held on six thousand dollars bail and
ordered to home confinement. He cut off his GPS and
left town. I hold that at the at the feet
of the District Attorney's office, that's for sure. Kevin Hayden,
wake up. Let me go to Brian in Somerville. Hey, Brian, welcome,
you are on with Richie Schukell. Go right ahead, Brian, Hey,
(32:28):
good evening.
Speaker 6 (32:29):
I run into make two points. Longtime Boston resident, lived
in the South End for eight years now in Summerville,
right near Davis Square. I see a lot of parallels
from what Richie's describing and what we are experiencing around
Davis Square. We opened a methadone clinic last year. It's
brought some of that kind of noise and friction into
(32:49):
the community. A lot of neighborhoods are now popping up
individual groups that are routinely giving feedback to our local mayor.
I wonder if there's parallels from other towns that are
experiencing some of the stuff around subways, around common areas
like here at Stavis Square and Porter Square and some
of what you're experiencing in Boston, and maybe there's collaboration
opportunities with some people who are trying innovative approaches to
(33:12):
address some of these things.
Speaker 2 (33:13):
Okay, let's see what Richie has to say. Racie, did
you hear Brian's comments? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (33:17):
Thanks, thanks for the question. I think there's absolutely a
need for us to what i'd say, be less insulid
here in the Boston area and learn from other parts
of our state and our country, by the way, in
terms of what else we can be doing to improve
the situation. I think what we're describing Summerville, I mean,
there's there there are trade offs to you know, to
(33:38):
be well understood in terms of setting up clinics, thinking
about different approaches to the housing. All of this is interconnected. Obviously,
it's multi dimensional. And so I don't know that we
have the luxury of experimenting anymore here in Boston. And
so I think root cause issues. You know, you started
off down with the this person who was charged with
(34:00):
shooting eight people? In what world do we let somebody
out on bill who has done that? That is that
is apparently absurd, right, I mean, it was just attorney
to do that.
Speaker 2 (34:12):
But but the bail was six thousand dollars. I mean,
if you're shooting eight people, I'm assuming you can probably
come up with the six thousand dollars, which he did.
They put him on a GPS. I just happened to
notice that article. And what does that say about the
District Attorney's office in Boston?
Speaker 3 (34:28):
That basic the agenda, you know, the same nobody. Nobody
elected somebody to do that. Nobody. I don't know of
any reasonab people who say, hey, that's a great idea,
let's let's put the way back on the street after
shooting eight people. I mean.
Speaker 6 (34:44):
Topic, thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (34:46):
It's thank and thank you for calling in. And you
can if you read Joan Venaki's piece in the Globe today.
I'm sure you get in touch with them, Rishi Shukla
uh and maybe uh maybe coordinate. Well that's an example.
It's funny. I'm looking at the Boston murders, and the
murders are down, but since July in Boston and most
(35:08):
of the murders occur in Roxby, Dorchester, Mattapean sadly. July
fifth man shot to death July in Roxbury. July fifth,
two shot in Mattapean, one dies. July fourteenth man shot
to death in Arborway near Forest Hill Station. August fourth
man shot to death in Roxbury and Amory Terrace. August
(35:29):
twelfth to shot, one dead in an apartment street in
an apartment on Trent Street. In Dorchester. Men stabbed to
death near Ashboon station on August twenty third. August twenty
fourth man shot to death, Dorchester, Washington Street. September second,
double shooting in Dorchester at a barbershot. One man is dead.
(35:50):
The twenty third man shot at Mildred Haley apartments September
excuse me, September twenty three. September twenty ninth man shot
dead on Come Highway in Mattapan October eighth, another October eighteenth,
eleven five, eleven eight. We've had fifteen people shot to
(36:10):
death in the last six months. We had a handful
in the first six months of this year. That's a
bad trend. That's a very bad trend.
Speaker 3 (36:21):
Look, you haven't even covered the NBTA crime stats, right,
So what when you really understand the data, then you
would look at everything you just described and then you
would say, Okay, what aren't we including in this that
is also violent or near homicide type statistics?
Speaker 4 (36:35):
Right?
Speaker 3 (36:36):
What we're not also talking about is, you know, are
these occurring closer to hospitals? Are we changing how first
responders deal with bullet wounds? So those fundamentally change how
statistics are are logged. And so if you talk to
officers about these things, I mean they'll tell you s
plot out right the way you captured data and you
want to you know, analyze it and publicize it. It's funcible, right,
(36:58):
Ultimately you can do what you want with um and
the time horizon matters. You know, how you sample, how
you cut it. You can spend numbers all day long.
But I think practically what you just cited, I mean
it's it's the poor reflection on the state of our city.
So if we're down one homicide or two, that's not
the point here. It's the totality of violent crime homicides.
The trend lines look generally better in Boston compared to
(37:21):
the rest of the country. That's great, but you know,
left unchecked some of these other issues that we're talking about.
You don't go rob a convenience storic gunpoint. That's not
your first act of being a criminal, right, You're a
hardened criminal at that point, And so we need to
get these types of folks off our streets. That's I
hope that's not controversial, and I think most folks who
(37:41):
are voted.
Speaker 2 (37:42):
For our some some people would consider it to be controversial.
I do not, by the way, just from a point
of that, the first six months of this year, five
people were murdered in Boston. In the last six months,
well the first six months of the year, in the
last five months fifteen, that's a bad trend. That's a
bad trend line. And when we see what's going on,
(38:05):
do me a favorite, Richie. Rob will give you my
direct line, keep me posted and we'll have you back.
I think this is an important conversation because Boston Common
is really, in many ways the heart of this city,
and I want to do whatever we can do to
give you as much oxygen on this issue as possible.
Joe Vanaki wrote a great piece in the Globe today.
(38:26):
I think we've had a good conversation tonight, and thank
you for joining us. Stay there. Rob will give you
my direct lines and we can talk anytime off air.
Speaker 3 (38:35):
Okay, thanks to appreciate you covering the important topic.
Speaker 2 (38:38):
You're very welcome. You're very welcome. Rob. Give him the
direct line. We come back. We're going to talk with
a gentleman who we talked to two or three weeks ago.
He has visited stadiums in twenty four countries around the world,
upwards of twenty five hundred professional sports stadiums. Where do
(38:58):
you hear, sir? His story? Come back on night's side
right after the ten little bit of a change of
pace here on a cold December night,
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