Mass and Cass is Boston’s nightmare.

It’s an open-air drug market that ebbs and flows through police sweeps and homeless encampment breakdowns, only to rise again. It degrades the quality of life for nearby residents. It’s a danger to families, especially children who play amid the minefield of discarded needles. It’s spreading to other parts of the city.

It’s a catastrophe, but not an emergency? At least not according to Boston City Councilor Sharon Durkan, who blocked a resolution fellow Councilor Ed Flynn sought to issue an emergency declaration for the area.

Mayor Michelle Wu’s office later issued a statement saying that the city was opposed to an emergency declaration for Mass and Cass and its surrounding neighborhoods.

“The city is using all levers of public health, public safety

See Full Page