![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/8ad8fe682bd716b6152682bddce104dc.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u2018Even depleted my 401(k)\u2019: Defeated restaurant owner among 130+ who testified at Mass & Cass hearing<\/p>\n
Tensions ran high at a public hearing to address unresolved public safety and quality of life concerns along the city\u2019s troubled Mass & Cass corridor.<\/p>\n
The meeting was set up by District 3 Councilor John FitzGerald after a proposal to declare a public health emergency was blocked by District 8 Councilor Sharon Durkan last month.<\/p>\n
A conference room at the Hampton Inn & Suites on Mass Ave quickly reached capacity with some attendees standing and overflowing into the lobby.<\/p>\n
134 people signed up for public testimony, including a restaurant owner who said she will likely have to close the restaurant her family opened nine years ago.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have even depleted my 401(k) to keep the restaurant open. I invested everything here, and nothing happened,\u201d said Nivia Pina, owner of Dona Habana Cuban Cuisine at 811 Mass Ave. \u201cI don\u2019t have any more strength to fight.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pina said crowds of drug users congregating and scaring customers on her patio have crushed her bottom line.<\/p>\n
She testified that she and her husband are paying $5,000 weekly out of pocket to keep their business afloat.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey use the barriers to go inside our property, destroy our property. Nobody pays for that,\u201d she said. \u201cPeople make a reservation and drive by and say, Sorry, I can\u2019t go in.\u201d<\/p>\n
Those who spoke expressed skepticism about a new plan to address the open-air drug market announced by Mayor Michelle Wu\u2019s Coordinated Response Team on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe quality of life has gone downhill faster than a ski slope. It\u2019s disgusting,\u201d said South Boston resident Linda Zablocki.<\/p>\n
The immense toll that the crisis has taken on people\u2019s quality of life, feelings of safety, and livelihoods was palpable for the duration of the four-hour meeting.<\/p>\n
Two families whose homes were broken into in the South End this summer shared their experiences at the podium.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are you doing for us?\u201d questioned South End resident Matthew Hammond.<\/a> \u201cAre you trying to gaslight me into thinking you are doing a good job? It\u2019s not working.\u201d<\/p>\n The trauma of having strangers enter their homes still lives with both families.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re told it\u2019s getting safer, but what I see is an administration trying to redefine what safety means,\u201d said South End resident Emilie Schleer.<\/a><\/p>\n Efforts to crack down on drug activity this summer have included new bicycle patrols and plans to add as many as 100 new Boston Police officers who just graduated from the academy.<\/p>\n Mayor Wu\u2019s administration said it remains focused on ending outdoor drug use.<\/p>\n BPD has conducted 467 drug-related arrests so far this year in the South End, Roxbury, & other impacted neighborhoods.<\/p>\n That\u2019s nearly an 85% increase from 2024.enter<\/p>\n Download the FREE Boston 25 News app<\/a> for breaking news alerts.<\/p>\n Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook<\/a> and Twitter<\/a>. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW<\/a><\/p>\n