Related: Boston Prostitute Grabs Pilot's Cockpit
Had a bump, did he?
"Drug trade heavy amid wealth near Boston Common" by Laura Crimaldi | Globe Staff July 24, 2014
In downtown Boston, Avery and Boylston streets jut out from Boston Common only a block apart, but they might as well be worlds apart.
Home to the Ritz-Carlton, Sports Club/LA, and the high-end furniture store Roche-Bobois, Avery Street bustles with parking attendants, hotel guests, condominium residents, and chauffeurs.
Boylston Street bustles, too, but with a completely different vibe.
The block between Washington and Tremont streets is an urban mix of historic buildings, an adult book and video store, a day shelter for the homeless, and what police say is the site of multiple complaints and tips about “blatant drug use” and hundreds of drug arrests.
On Sunday, drug control officers working there ensnared a JetBlue Airways Corp. pilot on a heroin charge.
“Historically, that area has been an area of a lot of drug activity,” said Boston police Captain Kenneth Fong, who commands District A-1, which covers downtown and Charlestown.
And no need to worry about pesky police.
“There’s a lot of new residential units being built there, a lot of new businesses. We’re trying to change the face of the area working with the neighborhood residents and businesses,” Fong said.
In the last few months, Fong said, officers have nearly doubled the overall number of arrests they have made across the district.
Boston police also say there have been 213 drug arrests on Boston Common and the surrounding area, including Tremont, Park, and Boylston streets between Jan. 1, 2012, and the present.
Heroin and crack cocaine are the most common drugs found there, said Sergeant Michael McCarthy, a police spokesman.
Fong said police have increased the number of patrols by uniformed and undercover officers. There are also bicycle and motorcycle patrols and officers who park their police cruisers and walk around, he said.
Transit Police say surveillance cameras have “greatly reduced” the number of people taking shelter inside Chinatown station to consume drugs, said Lieutenant Detective Richard Sullivan, commander of the special crimes unit.
Residents say they have noticed the drive to clean up the area.
“The new mayor is trying,” said Kevin Barron, a lawyer who lives on Washington Street. “Before the new mayor, there were hand-to-hand drug sales in broad daylight during lunch time.”
And another pillar of the Menino legacy crumbles.
--more--"
I'm told “there’s a heroin problem in the city of Boston.”
Too bad they are closing clinics do to lack of funds during this time of economic renewal.
