THE PRINT EDITION
THURSDAY APRIL 15, 2021
VOLUME XIX- ISSUE 74
Newmarket Rallies Against Mass/Cass Drug Dealers by Rick Winterson
A
t 11:30 Monday morning, the 12th, Sue Sullivan, Executive Director of the Newmarket Business Association, called for residents, authorities, business leaders, and other interested people to rally together on Southampton Street and push back against open drug dealing and the violence associated with drugs in that area. The rally’s location was at the intersection of Atkinson Street with Southampton Street, directly across from Boston’s Fire Department Headquarters. The view looks north across Southampton (a.k.a. the “Mass. Ave. Connector”), which joins Melnea Cass Boulevard on the other side of Massachusetts Avenue. From these two roads’ names comes
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the slang word “Mass/Cass”, which is certainly not (!) an affectionate nickname. In fact, Mass/Cass is the absolute drug dealing center of the City of Boston’s drug pandemic. The corner of Atkinson Street is the site of a major City of Boston shelter. Behind the shelter and a hundred yards down Atkinson, there once was a Comfort Station (so called), which actually had degenerated into a hassle-free drug injection site. This was shut down for a few weeks, while construction that converts it into what’ll be named an “Engagement Center” (whatever that means?) is completed. But many community leaders, including members of the Mass/Cass 2.0 Task Force, have condemned the Station’s closure, because the people it was supposed to help are now Continued onPage 2
Toasting outdoor dining – mimosas and bloody Marys at Moonshine 152. by Rick Winterson
S
outh Boston – America’s urban hometown – is known for its traditions. A nd that includes current happenings that could morph into traditions, as we watch them grow.
Many of these are connected with dining and drinking, such as the
now iconic “Taste of South Boston” event, which began about 20 years ago. More recently, we have enjoyed outdoor dining. That’s beginning to become a regular springweather event that will almost certainly be a tradition before long, even though it was originally a result of the pandemic and the Continued on Page 4
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