Franklin Park

Five years ago, when state officials were developing a request for proposals for the redevelopment of the Shattuck Hospital site in Franklin Park, Louis Elisa was a lone voice speaking in opposition of the plans, which evolved into a call for 75 to 100 shelter units for people experiencing homelessness and addiction.

Residents of neighborhoods surrounding Franklin Park this year have turned their attention to two planned developments in Boston’s largest public park, the renovation of White Stadium into a home for a women’s professional soccer team and the conversion of Shattuck Hospital into supportive housing for people struggling with addiction and homelessness.

Residents in Jamaica Plain and Roxbury envision a revitalized White Stadium that is a hub for city student-athletes, a haven for neighbors and an axis for ample jobs for people in communities nearby.

Calls to Boston’s 311 line to report discarded needles, open drug use, overdoses and encampments in Franklin Park skyrocketed last year after the city removed tents and improvised shelters from the Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard area and erected temporary housing structures on the Shattuck grounds.

Community members are expressing both support and caution in response to the city’s plans to renovate White Stadium in Franklin Park.

Mayor Wu now confronts a very serious dilemma. After the attack on Jean McGuire, it will be difficult to gain community support for the assignment of Mass and Cass residents to the Franklin Park area.

In an incident that has shocked her Roxbury neighbors, former METCO director and School Committee member Jean McGuire, 91, was stabbed multiple times last Tuesday evening while walking her dog in Franklin Park. She is currently hospitalized in stable condition and is expected to recover.

Despite a pledge last year to spread throughout the city housing and addiction treatment services for the homeless population concentrated in the area around Mass and Cass, Mayor Michelle Wu is not opposing a proposed 400-unit housing shelter that would be built at the site of the Shattuck Hospital in Franklin Park.

When city workers dismantled the tents in the streets around the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard last December, city officials and civic leaders stressed the importance of a regional approach that would distribute the drug treatment programs and transitional housing from the area to neighborhoods throughout the city and throughout the region.

In addition to the usual complement of elected officials and office seekers, the Puerto Rican festival parade included eight floats, more than 300 classic and custom cars, more than a dozen dance troupes among the 80-or-so official entrants.

The Boston Police Department has closed off streets in and around Franklin Park, Harambee Park and the Arnold Arboretum from 10 p.m. through 5 a.m., Thursday through Sunday.

BAMS (Boston Arts and Music Soul Festival) returns with live venues on June 11 at Playstead Field in Franklin Park. Canceled in 2020 due to COVID and virtual in 2021 for the same reason, this year begins a new era of performance and community fueled by music, art and local businesses.