How safe is Southie? written by Maureen Dahill
Last Tuesday’s violence in South Boston was the breaking straw in a summer that has been heavy with crime and violence. Southie’s summer began with a slew of home break-ins around the City Point neighborhood. In June, Melissa Hardy was beaten to death by her boyfriend on East Fourth Street.
A few weeks later, on a Tuesday in the middle of the day, two Boston police officers were shot at while investigating a drug deal in the Maryellen McCormack Housing Development. The crack dealer was shot and brought to the hospital.
On a sunny Thursday morning, the body of a young woman was found topless and dead on M street Beach. Police caution tape marked off the crime scene as lifeguards manned their post on a beach filled with people enjoying the summer sun.
Fast forward to Tuesday, July 23rd. A woman was punched by a man on Old Colony Ave. for no reason other than she just happened to be there. Amy Lord got up early that same morning to go to the gym. As she walked down the stairs of her apartment building, she was met by a stranger who beat her up in the hallway, terrified her into getting into her car and driving to not just one ATM but five of them all before 7am. She was then driven across the city to Hyde Park where she was stabbed to death and dumped in a parkland. Her body was discovered later at 4pm. She was 24 years old.
That same Tuesday just before midnight, a young woman walked her neighborhood streets to her home on Gates Street. When she began to walk up her front stairs, she was attacked from behind and stabbed repeatedly.
A suspect was arrested and charged with the two assaults. Edwin Alemany is also considered a person of interest in the murder of Amy Lord. His address is reported to be on East Eighth Street in our neighborhood. It was revealed in a press conference with Police Commissioner Ed Davis, Alemany should have been in jail from another attack in Mission Hill. The woman managed to extract his wallet with his license in it. The ball was dropped. A detective never followed up on this and Alemany was free to walk the streets. Free to terrorize women on the streets of South Boston.
So where do we go from here? Is this the end of crime and violence in Southie for the summer? Probably not. We still live in an urban neighborhood where crime will always happen, but we can be more proactive instead of reactive. Maybe a stronger police presence is needed. It would be comforting to see officers walking the neighborhood beat as a deterrent for future crimes.
On Monday, a Public Safety Meeting with be held to discuss a plan of action. Let’s make sure we don’t repeat this summer of crime and violence. Don’t forget that a little over a year ago, in the spring of 2012, Barbara Coyne was murdered in her home at 10am on a Monday morning. And after the beefed up police presence slowly disappears, and the headlines are replaced with other news, let’s not slip off into a comfortable state of false security again.
Stay safe, Southie!
17 Comments
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Well if people in the neighood talked to each other that would be a start,as most people don;t even know who lives in thier own neighood.
I agree with the statement above that people do not know who lives around them because they don’t talk to each other. I have lived in South Boston my entire life (50 plus years) and I know who lives in five homes on my block because the people in those five homes have lived there forever also. The rest of the block is either owner occuppied condos that change hands every two or three years or rental condos that change tenants yearly because of the absentee owners greed in raising rents annually. Drive along Fourth St at 8am some morning and see 30 people waiting at EACH corner for the bus and you will see 30 people texting, checking social media or with headphones on…heads down and not acknowledging a single soul around them. As I have walked my dog I have tried to make eye contact with new neighbors or say good morning and there is not response. The lack of communication among people in South Boston is deafening.
YOU ran for public office. Tell us, the voters, what are YOUR plans to stem this tide?
I think that people have managed to turn a blind eye from signs leading to these events . The proverty, Alcohal and drug abuse? It was all there and when violence did occur it was “The lower end”. Now, with violence occuring from people all over southie, even near my home (East 8th area) its become a huge shock. Open your eyes southie and help us get rid of the scumbags from ALL OVER South Boston.
Poor Amy Lord! It’s still so very hard to comprehend and never should have happened.
So this doesn’t happen again, the police are going to have to go door to door in the projects and rattle their cages. Rattle them hard enough so that the rats and cockroaches scatter and run back to where they came from. Too many baby daddys hanging around.
Yes, I know it’s not only there but the free rides are BS. Time to call it like it is.
I’ve lived here most of my life and am grateful to still see people I know. I also greet people in the street but not always with success. Communication is key. In South Boston we do have each others backs. Don’t forget.
Hi:
I would just like to respond, I am a somewhat new resident. My husband and I have lived here for five years, and recently bought a home on the same block we were renting. We do make an effort to chat with our neighbors, and we have gotten to know many of them, but not all. I will say that the “anti-yuppie” sentiment works against us – some residents are not welcoming to us, simply because we happened to be born in a different location. I know that does not represent all residents, and many of our neighbors are wonderful. But communication is a two-way street.
Interestingly, it’s the older generation of residents who are the most inviting to us (we are in our 20s).
I do hear what you’re saying about the bus stops though – no one ever talks at the stops or on the bus! I’ll talk with someone at the bus stop tomorrow, for good measure :)
You ran for public office, right..? Then tell us, the voters and your neighbors, exactly what YOU are planning to do to aid the neighborhood in ridding itself of this terrible crime splurge? You DO have opinions and critical input into public safety matters, right..? I mean, you DID run for public office after all, so I expect to hear your PUBLIC contributions on this matter. Otherwise, well, you know, it would appear that you just ran in order to see your name in the press. And we, your neighbors, know you wouldn’t do something like that, deliberatley making a mockery of the voting process for narcissistic, egomaniacal gains. So, what are your plans? Your friends, neighbors, and the voters are all waiting…..
Lighten up, Francis! Yes, I’m sure Maureen ran for office to make “mockery of the voting process for narcissistic, egomaniacal gain”. Your candidate lost! Get over it!
Well said New-ish- from a Born and Raised.
Many of these offenders have been linked to the OldHarbor Projects. All you have to do is take a walk through there (bullet proof vest on of course) to see it is a war zone! Most of these people are living rent free with EBT cards and free government phones to do thier drug deals. They do nothing to hide their drug activity as you can clearly see them making deals in the middle of the street. Logan Way looks like a big block party on the weekends full of public drinking, pot and crack smoking all out in the open.The heroin use in the hallways is disgusting! I feel bad for any law abiding citizen that still lives there. it must be a living hell. The whole place needs to be raided!
My candidate has put himself out in the public eye and been highly visible during this entire crisis; he is actually trying to DO something for us, rather than plastering an absurdly gigantic self-portrait at L & Broadway. What has YOUR candidate been doing? I’ve yet to hear one peep from that camp. If that entire farce of a campaign was something other than sheer megalomainia, Frances, that it could only have been dirty, back-door sneaky politics. How’s that working out for our neighborhood this summer? Your candidate certainly doesn’t seem to have Southie’s best interests in mind; obviously, mine does. Please, feel free to correct any misconceptions on my part. I’ll wait with baited breath.
Your candidate is doing his job – as he should. He is our state rep. My candidate lost but she is keeping us informed about what is going on in the neighborhood through this very website (that you obviously love to read) because that is her job. She is now a private civilian, a small business owner and editor of this blog. I’m sure she has an opinion but she is not a public servant and it’s NOT HER JOB to reveal a public safety plan for South Boston. Cut the girl some slack – What are you doing as a private citizen for South Boston’s public safety?
P.S. That bilboard was AWESOME!
FYI – it’s “bated breath” not “baited breath”. Look it up like the 25 cent word – megalomainia – you obviously looked up. Again, get over it.
The crime will get a lot worse. Southie is a toxic mix of druggies and yuppie victims.