May 15, 2008

As is our custom, South Boston Online will get to the good news first:

There’s much to look forward to at M Street Park.  The old concrete stands were essentially beyond any hope of repair, and had become a significant safety hazard.  But a complete replacement of the stands would have cost well into seven figures to accomplish.

Instead, the Parks Department will tap the City of Boston’s Capital Investment Plan for a comparatively small $600,000.  For this, two new aluminum stands will be erected at each ball diamond.  Demolition, followed by stabilization and landscaping, will take place.  Retaining walls, walkways to M and N Streets, and access stairs will be installed.

Jim Kelly originally put this in his budget when he was District Two City Councilor.  It was a project he strongly supported, and it has finally been realized.  It’s also a credit to the Parks Department that they thought “outside the box” and came up with an affordable solution to the problem.

M Street Park adjoins Medal of Honor Park, which was renamed in honor of the Medal of Honor Convention held in Boston late in 2001.  It is the site of America’s first Vietnam Memorial, which commemorates the 25 South Bostonians who gave their lives in Vietnam.  It is also the site of the Jim Nee Walkway. All in all, the entire area forms a beautiful complex, devoted to peaceful green space and athletic recreation.  The views across the South Boston Waterfront and into Boston are excellent.  That’s quite some progress from the days when it was “city land” housing an asylum and a poor farm.

Then, there’s the bad news (some really bad news):

After dark, when the lights on the field have been shut off and the leashed/unleashed dogs have all gone home, different types of “recreation” get underway.  It is obvious that extensive public drinking takes place on many nights, as the photos show.  That alone is against the law, as well as being a big-time neighborhood nuisance. 

Furthermore, much of the drinking is done by underage youth.  That takes the offenses from a public nuisance to the criminal level.  In addition to that, South Boston Online has received a number of reports that open drug dealing and drug use are occurring in M Street Park.  We have not verified these reports, but we suspect there’s some truth to them.

To those residents who live next to the park, please call 9-1-1 if you see any unusual activity in M Street Park after dark.  Then call Station C-6 and insist upon speaking to the “Duty Supervisor” – no one else!  Let him or her know that you have already called 9-1-1.  If you aren’t willing to do that, you have no cause to complain after the fact.

We want better coverage of M Street Park by the police, especially on foot at frequent intervals.  Simply driving by on East Broadway or East First Street doesn’t cut it, even if the police vehicle is unmarked.

Here’s a suggestion:  keep a few of the field lights on all night.  Using an automatic timer switch, turn all the lights on full at random intervals, for a few minutes at a time.  That will frighten most wrongdoers away.

Good weather is coming soon.  When the construction work is finished, M Street Park will become a more attractive hangout than ever.  We need action now to prevent the situation there from becoming worse.

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