Crime and stress from Central Square’s unhoused draw increased attention from police and officials
Officers patrol Central Square in a screen capture from a video released Monday by the Cambridge Police Department.
Police and city officials are stepping up efforts against crime and homelessness in Central Square since Starbucks delivered a hard-to-miss illustration on the extent of anxieties there: an announcement that the coffee shop chain was pulling out, serving for the last time Sunday at one the square’s most prominent corners.
Other business owners in the square have been looking to the city for help.
Though the square hasn’t “ever been cleaner,” said Josh Gerber, owner of 1369 Coffee House, “things feel worse” than before the Covid pandemic, part of that being the higher visibility of unhoused people since the clearing of the “Mass and Cass” area in Boston.
“The city needs to direct more resources toward the square,” Gerber said.
The 1369 Coffeehouse in Central Square, seen Wednesday. The square has never been cleaner, the owner says, but “things feel worse.” (Photo: Marc Levy)
That’s happening now: Cambridge police said Monday that they were “investing additional resources, time and energy into the increased safety and wellness of Central Square following a recent increase of reported and observed concerns.”
A public meeting about the city’s unhoused population and an uptick in substance use in Central Square is planned for 2 p.m. Nov. 29 at City Hall, held by the City Council’s Human Services Committee.
Unverifiable claims
Nightlife in Central Square on Saturday, as people line up to get into La Fabrica, a restaurant and nightclub. (Photo: Marc Levy)
Another Central Square business owner expressing concerns is Patrick Barrett, developer of the 907 Main boutique hotel and a proposed revamp of the Middle East restaurant and nightclub complex. Barrett has expressed various concerns and claims that couldn’t be verified. “The police are demoralized, without any council support,” Barrett said in comments posted online. “There just seems to be an unwillingness to do anything. Since August, we’ve had multiple stabbings, two muggings and two shooting incidents on top of a ton of violent interactions that go unreported … We need leadership now more than ever.”
Barrett also said that this year the Central Square Business Improvement District, of which he is a board member, had so far picked up more than 21,000 syringes, increasing from 16,000 last year, and that crime is causing other businesses to leave – a Dunkin’ Donuts that closed at 616 Massachusetts Ave., and potentially the 7-Eleven minimart at 750 Massachusetts Ave.
No stabbings have been reported in Central Square since July; there have been two gunfire incidents in the area since the beginning of July, but only one shooting in October that resulted in non-fatal injuries, not the two cited by Barrett, police said. No cause was given by Dunkin’ upon closing, and the owner of the 7-Eleven hung up when asked to talk about crime in the area. A worker at the store this week was dismissive of Barrett’s claim.
“There’s more crime,” the worker said. “But we’re not closing.”
Although Barrett and fellow Central Square BID board member Michael Monestime said they welcomed the chance to talk about crime, both have declined to respond to multiple attempts by email and phone call to get them on the record. Barrett was first emailed Oct. 24, followed by calls that went unanswered, and the Business Improvement District offices were first contacted Oct. 27. Monestime said Oct. 31 that he would talk the next day, then didn’t pick up the phone or respond to messages.
Homeless are often victims
Carl Barron Plaza in Central Square on Wednesday. (Photo: Marc Levy)
Cambridge is a much safer city than it was 25 years ago, according to crime statistics, though property crime and violent crime increased from 2019 to 2021; that led into a 27 percent increase in violent crime and a 6 percent increase in property crime so far this year compared with the same date a year earlier.
Certain types of crime have been concentrated in the Central Square area. Around 36 percent of all aggravated assaults happened in the area this year, and around 61 percent of street robberies – with the “predominant scenario” involving a few suspects taking phones and personal belongings from unhoused people, according to the November BridgeStat report released by police. Between 2020 and 2021, larcenies from persons, in which something is stolen without confrontation or awareness, increased by 29 percent, according to the CPD’s Annual Crime Report. Shoplifting increased 10 percent over the same period.
Police are working with the Central Square BID to “improve the overall health of the square,” such as by deploying additional containers where drug users can throw away needles safely, said Jeremy Warnick, director of communications and media relations for the department.
Starbucks customers await their orders Oct. 30. This Central Square location closes Sunday. (Photo: Marc Levy)
“We are a data-oriented police department. We direct patrols in high-activity areas seven days a week over the course of every shift. Additionally, we conduct high-impact patrols during the day and night shifts seven days a week in areas that have seen an increase in quality-of-life and disorder complaints,” Warnick said in an email.
There’s no evidence crime was just a pretext used by Starbucks to close a 25-year-old store where employees were unionizing. Workers at the store said they were unaware of any such effort; at an Oct. 30 union rally at Cambridge City Hall, the only Starbucks worker present was Liam Easton-Calabria, a labor organizer from a location in Brookline’s Coolidge Corner, and he said he too was unaware of organizing in Central Square. “There are store closings all over the country” due to claims of rising crime, Easton-Calabria said, though “I don’t think there are numbers to back that up.”
Attention on the unhoused
A red line rider awaits a train Oct. 20 in Central Square near a sleeping person. (Photo: Marc Levy)
The attention of business owners, city officials and police falls largely on the unhoused population.
Police assignments are intended to “develop and document intelligence” so people in need of services can get follow-up from CPD’s Family and Social Justice Section, which includes a clinical support unit overseen by a psychologist and employing licensed independent social workers. “Officers will take enforcement action to address crime and quality-of-life problems, where appropriate,” Warnick said.
City councillor Quinton Zondervan, the chair of the council’s Public Safety Committee, thinks the solution to making Central Square safer is providing better services for its homeless. “A lot of these crimes” are committed by unhoused people on other unhoused people, he said.
He attributed the increase in crime in the square to the pandemic and high inflation. “The more people become unhoused and unemployed, the crime rate goes up,” Zondervan said. “It’s just that simple.”
“We have to provide low-threshold, non-congregate shelter for everybody who needs it, we need to provide free medical care for everybody who needs it, we have to make sure that people have access to jobs and education so that they can take care of themselves,” Zondervan said. “When we fail to do that, this is the result.”
“The notion that somehow putting more police officers on the street is going to solve this problem is absurd,” Zondervan said.
With the loss of 40 beds at Central Square’s Salvation Army shelter in the spring, the city is losing ground on space for the unhoused. Zondervan said he is working closely with the city manager on the issue. There is plenty of money and space available, he said, but “it’s a very challenging environment.”
Gerber, at 1369 Coffee House, said he has a very positive view of the square regardless of any of its issues.
“Central Square has always been a neighborhood that has served a really wide and diverse set of people. And that has included folks who are doing business in Central Square, it’s included the people who live in the really nice houses and condos and places in Cambridgeport and Mid-Cambridge – and it’s also included a lot of unhoused people who utilize the services that are here,” Gerber said. “And there are a lot of services.”
To be clear, the Cambridge City Council supports our Police Department. We voted 8-1 to increase our Police budget, while Boston and Somerville decreased theirs. There may be one or two Councillors who are more skeptical about policing, but the majority of the Council, including myself, are supportive of the CPD.
The reality is that we can’t arrest our way out of this. The police themselves will tell you that. If they arrest someone for public drinking or drug use, that person is released by the courts in 24 to 48 hours and right back doing the same thing.
Many of the people you see in Central are not unhoused. The folks, the ones who are selling drugs to the unhoused, who are assaulting the unhoused, should be dealt with differently. Selling drugs is a crime, being homeless is not.
I have been pushing the City to open a day center for the unhoused. If people actually took a minute to talk to these folks, they will tell you that they don’t like to be outside in the blazing heat or frigid cold, but there is no place for them to go. A drop in center would be better for them and for the business community because folks won’t be out on the street (although it should be noted that they have every right to sit in a public park).
We also have to work regionally. Cambridge cannot solve this issue on our own. The unhoused population is very transient. Folks move between communities and unless we have a coordinated effort, we won’t make a dent in this issue.
Let’s also remember that the majority of people you see in Central are not violent. They are not criminals. People are unhoused for lots of different reasons. Those experiencing homelessness are not all addicts or mentally ill, and many who are struggling with substance use and mental illness are housed.
Our police are great because they keep us safe, but they are also compassionate. More departments should be like them.
Marc, you said this
“The folks, the ones who are selling drugs to the unhoused, who are assaulting the unhoused, should be dealt with differently. Selling drugs is a crime, being homeless is not.”
What do you propose to do? It is not enough to state the obvious.
And as far as Central Square goes, what is it going to take for the city to put in CCTV? A murder where the killer runs away? A kidnapping?
Put the CCTV cameras in Cambridge.
Sadly, I make that statement because it isn’t obvious. I have spoken to a number of people who have asked and advocated for arresting homeless people.
I do not believe in arresting people who are homeless or use substances. I do believe in arresting drug dealers. So, what should we do? The police should investigate and when they feel they have probable cause to arrest someone who is dealing heroine or opioid, they should arrest them.
As far as what should we do to solve the unhoused crisis, that is more complicated. No City has completely figured it out. There needs to be short and long term solutions. We need to work regionally, we need to increase housing vouchers, we need to build more affordable housing, we need better job training, better mental health support, better addiction support. It’s not easy, but arresting people who are unhoused or using doesn’t work.
Agreed. We should not arrest these people.
And we desperately need more affordable housing.
What is your thought on CCTV cameras in Cambridge? Are you for or against having them?
And, if against, why?
I worry about cameras and civil liberties, how cameras are used to target certain populations. I support traffic cameras because they only record license plates. But I’m open to discussion.
concerned43 just wants more grainy video that he can enjoy….
CCTV is pointless unless you blanket the city….and even the….
And who wants to live in London? It has really solved their problems hasn’t it?
Sam Noubert,
I would think it’s really beneath you to make your first comment.
Marc, London blankets the city. It has helped the police in the case of bombings and murders. When I go to London, I’m glad to see the CCTV.
Exactly what civil liberties are you referring to?
Handled the right way, this is going to help with solving both big and small crimes. Wouldn’t it have been better to know who the people were who have been using guns in the city this year?
If we had a mugging in Central Square, wouldn’t it be better to have video of the incident. And the photos are not grainy. It’s going to be too late to wish that we had had CCTV, after an incident occurs.
As far as traffic cameras, why don’t we have them? What is the problem? What rational reason is there not to have them.
I cannot begin to understand the approach Zondervan suggests (copied below). It’s as unachievable as “We need to house everyone who wants to live in Cambridge.” Incomprehensible, unachievable and not a goal of the town’s existing residents. Who are you representing?
“We have to provide low-threshold, non-congregate shelter for everybody who needs it, we need to provide free medical care for everybody who needs it, we have to make sure that people have access to jobs and education so that they can take care of themselves,” Zondervan said.
SBlack,
What you said is absolutely correct.
Zondervan seems to wants to represent not only
current Cambridge residents, but those that would like to live here. As you said, “unachievable.”
Unfortunately, your next statement “not a goal of the town’s existing residents” might be incorrect. You and I know that it shouldn’t be a goal, but there are a few too many in this city who believe otherwise. These people, for instance Zondervan, simply don’t realize the consequences.
Zondervan, along with a few other Councillors,
doesn’t seem to live in the real world as to what can reasonably be achieved. He forgets that this city should be run for all who live here. Furthermore, from what I’ve seen, he has no concept of the financial aspects of the city going out ten years. None.
How many shelters are there and Cambridge? And how many beds currently?
I work in Central Sq every day and I can tell you who the drug dealers are. The unhoused are often taken to the hospital after falls, overdoses and beatings. They get prescriptions and sell them to each other. I’ve watched the transactions right outside my window. Having called the police on these occasions, nothing has been done.
Zondervan’s statement is so condescending and reprehensible I don’t even know where to begin to express my rage. This problem has been going on for years since the pandemic. Yet all of these city councilor members turn a blind eye and instead kowtow to the bike lobbyists, disregarding the first rule of governing is to keep the citizen safe. Why are we still paying their salary when they are throwing these kind of garbage back to the taxpayers? I say let’s vote them out next year and get someone who is competent and actually care about the residents in the neighborhood.
pandacalee,
Agreed. Let’s throw them out. Easier said than done.
Our voting system, proportional ranked choice,
makes it very difficult to get rid of councillors like Zondervan. And he is not the only one who thinks “way left”, instead of looking out for all the citizens in Cambridge.
In addition, voters just don’t seem to care. In this past mid-term election, only 46% of the registered voters in Cambridge voted. 54% simply couldn’t be bothered. Shameful.
This is what we’re up against in this city.
You and I, maddmann1 (above), and so many others are starting to see the effects of the non-sensible policies that this city is instituting. Unfortunately, it will probably get worse and the citizens of this city will suffer in so many ways.
Pandacalee
I’m so sick of the city Counselors and how they run the city and all of the citizens in the city are suffering I totally agree with you an concerned43 I do vote and it doesn’t help. I’ve been living in Cambridge for 56 years and I’m ready to move out of the city and not look back only come back to work and go back to where I moved too. They cater to everybody else but taking care of the real problems.
Yes but too little to late unfortunately. Buckle up for the managed decline – geez all the marijuana spots haven’t even opened yet!
djm200; there are a little over 300 shelter beds in Cambridge. They are not running at full capacity. In March 2023, the Salvation Army (a little over 30 beds) is slated to close due to funding issues, although the city is trying to work with them. In December 2023, the 58 bed shelter set up by the city during Covid at Spaulding Hospital is also slated to close. So, that is trying to be worked out.
All we need is to stay engaged and organized. A year out can do plenty recuits, fiscal planning and neighbor organizing. Now the cat is out of the bag and people are starting to notice, people will come to a rude awakening the most prominent real estate retail spot was driven out because of crime and the city council had done nothing to prevent it. Everyone I know who lives in North Cambridge was streamed about the bike lane, bus lane and the sudden traffic gridlock. Since Marc was mentioning the temp shelter at Spaulding, I can tell you many of my friends who lived around that area all of a sudden find used needles on the ground, people literally shot up at their front porch. Does any one of these city councils have kids? Still think the homeless issue is harmless? To feed the habits you need money. If you read the police log it is a mile long laced with larceny with stolen bikes and packages. I refuse to live with the decline. So I say throw the bums out, and I don’t mean one on the streets, instead the ones sit tight in their cushy seats in the city hall.
Peace Be Unto You,
Cambridge, don’t believe the hype, all the so-called social problems to be found at Central Square, and other areas of the city, and their origins can be traced right back to City Hall. Our municipal policy makers are directly to blame. There is enough federal, state, and local monies and resources, circulating through the local public treasury, to accommodate all of the legitimate needs of those at Central square, and other parts of the city, in which the truth of, is being hidden from the citizen and residents. Plus Cambridge has been maintaining a Triple AAA Bond Rating for many years, and that means all kinds of private monies and resources, are also available to the city for combating its diverse degrees of poverty. Yes, Cambridge is able to provide much better for its have not citizens and residents, but it is turning a blinded eye, and diverting needed monies and resources away from sensitive priorities.
Some label it’s failures on poor political will, the municipal policy makers are directly responsible for fixing the broken lives of the poor segments of the community. Thank you for reading my humble words.
Yours In Peace
Hasson Rashid
Deeply Concerned Citizen
Cambridge,MA