Frustrated Boston residents and business owners packed a South End hotel conference room Thursday night to demand city leaders address conditions at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard. Residents said things in the area, long the site of open-air drug deals, violence and tent encampments, have only gotten worse in the past few years.
The hearing was an opportunity for residents to vent, as the council disagrees over whether it can declare a public safety, public health, and humanitarian crisis. Councilor Ed Flynn, who represents the South End, sponsored the resolution last month. Councilor Sharon Durkan blocked a vote on it.
Critics of the resolution within the mayor’s administration — and on the council — say that kind of declaration wouldn’t come with more resources…