BOSTON – Ed Flynn, candidate for Boston City Council District 2, has called for the creation on a Special Services Division within the City of Boston Parks Department to assist in the disposal of needles, monitor our parks, and increase public safety for our children and families. This Special Services Division would collaborate with the Boston Police Department and the state’s Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) to ensure that the city and state are working in concert to address this public safety issue.
“Recent reports have highlighted that our city’s parks and playgrounds, which are supposed to be a safe place for our children and families, were littered with over 63,000 hypodermic needles in the month of September. The opioid epidemic has spilled over and created an additional public health crisis for our city,” said Flynn. “It is my hope that the creation of this Special Services Division, specifically tasked with the monitoring of our parks and the disposal of needles, will help to solve this problem and remove this covert activity from our parks.”
Flynn recognized the work of Boston City Councilor At-Large Annissa Essaibi-George in spearheading the effort to double the city’s Mobile Sharps Collection Team, who are tasked with the disposing of discarded needles. This past summer, Flynn testified before the council regarding Essaibi-George’s legislation on this public safety issue. “Anissa has been out front on this issue and looking out for our kids. If elected, I will work closely with her to make sure that our residents feel safe in public spaces where they live, work, and play.”
InvesTnow. The parks are safe, the T is not. It’s only a matter of time until a major tragedy happens.