Boston crisis deepens as 'zombie' addict staggers through city's poshest mall
Boston crisis deepens as 'zombie' addict staggers through city's poshest mall, after Dem mayor gave out taxpayer-funded crack pipes
By JOE HUTCHISON, and SONYA GUGLIARA
Boston's raging drug problem has deepened after images surfaced of a man hunched over outside of the city's poshest mall.
The unidentified man could be seen lurched over and using a phone outside of Copley Place in the Democratic-led city, in footage taken by a passer-by.
It was shared to social media by a group of locals openly opposed to Democrat Mayor Michelle Wu as the latest example of the problems facing the Massachusetts city.
'Wow can't even shop in Mayor Wu's Boston without running into drug addicts,' the post said. 'This is in Boston's most luxurious mall too.'
The city has been in the spotlight after residents lashed out at Wu, blaming her policies for enabling behavior similar to what was captured outside the mall.
Locals have blamed Wu for her decision to hand out free crack pipes, syringes, and other paraphernalia to addicts in 2022 as helping fuel the problems.
While Wu's administration pitched the controversial move as 'harm reduction,' critics have countered that all she's done is increase the permissiveness of public drug use in Boston.
The intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard, known as 'Mass and Cass,' is notorious for open-air drug usage.
In the widely circulated images, an unknown man could be seen lurched over and using a phone outside of Copley Place in the Democratic-led city
Locals have blamed Boston Mayor Michelle Wu's decision to hand out free crack pipes, syringes, and other paraphernalia to addicts
The mayor has tried to clear out the crime-ridden area, dubbed 'Methadone Mile,' by trying to take down tent encampments.
But instead of isolating the drug crisis, it has amplified and spread - further plaguing the historic city.
Residents from across Boston have complained that the Mass and Cass crackdown has led to 'out of control' spillover into their neighborhoods.
The streets of once-pristine communities, including tony Beacon Hill, have been left littered with dangerous needles.
A clean-up crew supported by the Newmarket Business Improvement District has estimated they pick up about 1,000 needles a day across Boston.
Beacon Hill, where the median housing price is $2.8million, is just one of the areas feeling the burn.
On social media, people have expressed disbelief with the jaw-dropping images outside Copley Place and pointed to Wu's lackluster efforts.
'Truly unbelievable how anyone, regardless of political affiliation, allows this kind of cr*p to happen,' one man wrote on X. 'Super sad to see Boston slowly turning into SF or Portland, OR. Let's hope the wealthy in Beacon Hill raise a stink about it and get rid of Wu.'
A Beacon Hill resident shared a photo of a man slumped over in a wheelchair with an umbrella over his shoulders on a street corner (pictured)
The streets of once-pristine communities, including tony Beacon Hill, seen here, have been left littered with dangerous needles
Another added: 'Her free needle plan is working well; they dump them everywhere, as a free supply Wu's progressive ways are slowly bringing the city down.'
While the images sparked the recent uproar, Beacon Hill residents have been noticing drug-related litter and people shooting up on the streets for years.
Katherine Kennedy, a Beacon Hill mother-of-two, described to the Boston Herald last September how the area had changed for the worse.
'I pass discarded needles as I walk my five-year-old to her public school every day,' she said.
'Having to keep needles away from my kids as I walk them to preschool is unacceptable.'
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