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Boston's only round hotel to become Pine Street Inn housing next week; some South Enders have issues
By adamg on Thu, 07/23/2020 - 9:33am
The Boston Sun reports on the controversy over the Pine Street Inn leasing the Roundhouse Hotel near the intersection of Melnea Cass Boulevard and Massachusetts Avenue for use as a 180-person homeless shelter.
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Comments
But where will all the pimps, hookers,
and tourists (who thought it was a decent hotel online until then they arrive and are scared for their lives) go now?
Wow
Wow hotel rooms must be so low for them to be able to do that. That hotel is the 'dirt cheap' hotel that appears on hotels.com . And some unsuspecting out of towner books there thinking its cheap and in town.. until they arrive
I had a few friends do that and they complain about the vagrants across the street.
I had a friend who was worked in the lobby of the hotel and said they have to lock the doors after hours.
I mean I get the neighborhoods complaint about it. That neighborhood has enough issues, and having people stay in that area would have them linger there too. It might cause more issues.
Then again, where do we put a homeless shelter where there would not be any NIMBYs.. probably no where. Someone will always complain..
It may be like other "remote"
It may be like other "remote" locations Pine St operates.
Not a walk-in shelter. Clients stay there at night, maybe get morning and/or evening meal, maybe some support services like computer access, maybe specified as a clean (with respect to active drug use) shelter. They get up in the morning, required shuttle van to Pine St central operations, go wherever from there, get the shuttle (required) from central back to the remote location in the evening.
Thats the key
Thats the key to making this work. Gotta bus people out of the neighborhood. If not, they stay in the area and get sucked into the issues of that neighborhood.
no the key is shelter
These people need a safe place to sleep and shower. They need services to get them job ready and a path to permanent housing. Instead of appeasing the neighbors, they need to focus on the actual goal of reducing homelessness. These would be relatively big spaces for homeless adults. It may be for families.
Shelter
Yes but the shelter does not good if they.. they meaning people who are trying to stay clean and sober.... walk out the front door and get bombarded by Drug Dealers.
That is the issue with that neighborhood and why getting people away from the shelter during the day is key to making this work.
I never said I was against the shelter. Just a balance is needed.
Unfortunately as much as we want to help the homeless, the neighborhood has a right to say what goes on. I'm battling drug dealers on my street (in Chelsea), so I get it, I don't want more issues than need to be. I understand the neighborhood's complaint.
Its nice to say "We need to do this, so suck it up butter cup". But do you live there? I am sure you would not be so rosey-eyed if you saw the action. You'd be tired of it too.
Edit: Added link to private playlist of what I see. Its not where this hotel is, but the activity is just the same.
I didn't say you are against the shelter
I said your priorities are wrong.
but again
As someone who deals with this garbage right outside his door (abiet not in this neighborhood)
I can tell you my priorities are just fine.
You didn't look at my link.
DO YOU WANT THIS IN FRONT OF YOUR HOUSE ALL HOURS OF THE NIGHT AND DAY?
No, you say?
Then you understand why the neighborhood's concern.
(and any other answer except "No" is a lie, I don't know ANYONE who would tolerate this out front of their home because they wanted a homeless shelter with no balance nearby instead)
I don't need to follow your link to disagree
The neighborhood's concern is a red herring. Or a real life concern trolling. Homelessness will end when people have homes.
Your point is dissolving by the way. The addicts are present now. If some of these people are placed at the hotel (which if you knew anything about it is unlikely) then they could use the safety and stability to recover from addiction. When a hotel is leased for shelter the placements are longer term, not nightly. These are people that have accepted services and in the process of qualifying and acquiring subsidized housing. Are you against new residents of the hotel or the current crowd?
I live in Dorchester and I am surrounded by sober rooming houses. Your priorities will prevent any solution of the housing crisis.
oh yes
Priorities of getting daily crime off the street in front of my home.
Whatever cinna.... You didn't look, because it went against your rant here. Its very valid.. VERY.
This has ZERO to do with the housing crisis. Go bark at 'luxury' condo developer if you wanna talk about 'housing crisis' thats the REAL priority.
Or better yet, how about barking at city leaders who keep approving multi million dollar high rises for luxury condos instead of affordable housing. Then allowing developers to 'build elsewhere'. (then never do)
OR lets talk about the neighborhood at hand.. why is it so bad that the neighbors have issues? Why isn't more to be done to combat this.
Priorities my friend.. priorities. The issue isn't the homeless shelter...
Really?
The pine street inn has zero to do with the housing crisis?
What aboutism troll?
link doesn't work
The YouTube link tells me 'playlist does not exist'
I feel so bad for the
I feel so bad for the homeless who will live there. It's like bringing the lambs to the slaughter. Haven't they had enough? I tried to get gas there the other day and was almost accosted, and then was accosted at the drive-through at McDonald's. I have a home and a job and can deal. It's cruel to put people through that if they are already in a bad way. I'm surprised by the Mayor. I thought he recognized that this needs to be accepted at a community level. Homeless people don't deserve this community. They deserve kindness and opportunity, not to be condemmed by such a poor solution.
I am so with you on this.
I am so with you on this. This is one huge reason why physically spreading out shelters, addiction services, and mental health services is so important. I literally watched from my window as an entire heroin subculture was born in this area. Places like the Long Island shelter, with physical isolation, more pleasant surroundings, and a limited population surrounded on all sides by normal, functioning society are just so much more conducive to healing, recovery, and getting back on track than having to step out every morning into a situation where you absolutely know you will have at least 2 confrontations with people which likely could turn violent. Awful. Spacing these types of services out physically allows people a normal existence, instead of a gauntlet of disordered behavior to navigate every day.
I'm guessing
How's freshman year at UMass Amherst going?
What does that mean?
What does that mean?
I lived in this neighborhood
I lived in this neighborhood for 15 years before moving out last fall It was just fine, if a bit sketchy at times, for 10 of those years. And to clarify, by "this neighborhood", I mean Newmarket, not the South End. You really don't know what you are talking about if you think this is about "appeasing neighbors". We would walk out the door every single day to people injecting drugs on our front steps, needles littering the street, people's garbage strewn everywhere, and confrontations. Endless confrontations. Raving lunatics punching fences and cars because of something happening in their heads. People using the street as a toilet. People screaming at us that they owned the neighborhood and we should go live somewhere else if we didn't like it. And before you tell me that every homeless person is not like this, let me stop you: of course they aren't, and not everyone engaging in this behavior was homeless. But I saw first-hand what cramming too many shelters and services into one place can do. And while many are transitionally homeless due to unfortunate circumstance, many others are chronically homeless due to mental illness, addiction, or other things that make them unable to be functional members of society and unable to remain on a path to permanent housing. These people act out, and whether or not they are in control of that is a moot point; it still has consequences for the rest of us. No one here is arguing that we shouldn't try to comfort the afflicted. What I'm saying is that this area is already way beyond its capacity, and if you think this is some NIMBY bull, then you should see what the residents of this area are already putting up with. Any added beds or services really, really need to go somewhere else. If these beds will be for families (wild speculation on your part, but ok, let's go with it), then god help them; that area is no place for children, and literally anywhere else would be better. And hey, if we really are talking about beds with shuttle buses that bring people out of the neighborhood each morning, it really expands the possibilities! How about Weston, Newton, Wellesley, or Dover? Maybe Belmont? There are just so many other places these facilities could go!
Enough is enough with the city trying to cram the entire homeless and addicted population into one square mile where no one else has to look at them. This is not run-of-the-mill complaining neighbors, and the suggestion that it is tells me you have no idea of the scope or severity of the situation in that area.
Nothing u can do about that.
Nothing u can do about that. It's not like they are doing community service and "gotta" get on the bus. If they are still not ready to make the decision to get clean and off the shit, they will remain. Remove the dealers. 24-7. An occasional sweep obviously doesn't work.
"Then again, where do we put
"Then again, where do we put a homeless shelter where there would not be any NIMBYs.. probably no where. Someone will always complain.."
Well, there used to be this island, until rank incompetence, neglect, and probably corruption caused them to close the bridge to it without warning. That's pretty much what started the whole "Methadone mile" mess.
I thought it already was a
I thought it already was a shelter. The only people I saw going in and out over the years were homeless. Or maybe they were just going in there to use the bathrooms in the lobby.
Do it
This is literally the armpit of Boston. The addiction house is right down the road. Let them create this resource for the homeless population...
It really can't get any worse.
Or, instead of just writing
Or, instead of just writing this area off as a loss, how about opening some shelters or treatment facilities anywhere but Boston?
Quincy refuses to even allow buses for Long Island to drive through the city on their way there, but I guess we should just rope off Newmarket and pen in all the undesirables that the rest of the city doesn't want to look at, because it's already bad, right?
Anyone framing this as "come on, take one for the team!" needs to point that attitude straight toward the many, many cities and towns outside Boston that refuse to contribute to society through shelters, treatment facilities, and other programs, and who funnel their homeless, addicted, and mentally ill residents here because of their inaction. This neighborhood wouldn't be "the armpit of Boston" if everyone had done their part to begin with.
Maybe
Maybe one armpit is better than multiple armpits throughout other areas of Boston and in other towns.
Long Island Bridge
All Boston needs to do is agree to restrict development on Long Island to medical and rehabilitation facilities with the remainder becoming park land and Quincy would be on board.
No luxury condos
No luxury hotels
No Seaport like development
Why won't Boston agree?
The problem is that real estate developers won't make any money.
What agreement?
Could you link this so-called treaty that would solve everything?
It would be cheaper
To build the bridge to Long Island where housing already exists for the homeless. The expansion of the methadone mile is not the answer.
not when you add in the legal costs
Because people have to pass through sainted quincy to get to that bridge. And you know, no one in squantum ever becomes addicted to drugs and homeless.