Health & Environment Police & Fire

Fed Up with Trash Pickers and Crime in the North End

The following post is shared by North End residents that have asked to be identified only as BD and MD.

Picked through trash on the street

We heard yelling outside our condo on Fulton Street, and we looked out our window and witnessed two people – a man and a woman who were going through our next door neighbors’ trash (“Sunday night – April 27, 2014″) and apparently it looked like some of the trash bags contained file folders with lots of papers – the woman going through the trash was definitely high on drugs and could hardly move or stand up straight. Her partner in crime, was holding a cart so she could stuff papers inside a bag in the cart.

There had to be at least eight white trash bags on the sidewalk which were ripped open and rubbish strewn all over the sidewalk, including papers. The two trash pickers were yelling at each other and walked away with lots of papers. We immediately called BPD to inform them of what just happened on our street.

For some crazy reason, we went outside to see where they were headed so the BPD could locate them. We saw them enter a building on Commercial Street adjacent to the Golden Goose parking lot . We clearly had a good description of them and told the BPD what they looked like and what they were wearing. We also mentioned to the BPD to check cameras, if any, in the Commercial Street building to see who they were.

The reason for our calling the BPD was this – my credit card information was recently fraudulently used by a thief who tried to spent $5,000 on a shopping spree – I was alerted by my Bank of these fraudulent charges and we were able to stop the monies from being sent to the retailers.

We want to alert persons who leave their trash out at night to be sure their personal papers are shredded before putting in the trash. I also understand there have been a few robberies in the Fulton Street area recently.

The April 29, 2014 edition of the North End Regional Review gave their opinion of our Mayor as follows “Martin Walsh has publicly stated he has not yet taken a position on same-day trash pickup for residential trash and the overwhelming cost to implement the program in certain communities, clearly indicates that the proposed program is not on anyone’s radar at this time.”

I love living in the North End, but sometimes life in the city can be a bit crazy and daunting.

 

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45 Replies to “Fed Up with Trash Pickers and Crime in the North End

  1. The Mayor is only saying that it could be somewhat cost-prohibitive for the City to formally change the North End to a later morning trash put-out / for a later morning same day pick-up service. He is NOT saying that we cannot, right now, just exercise our already existing option of getting trash to the curb BEFORE 7AM; but not out OVERNIGHT (when people and animals have all the time in the world to rip it open)!

    Do what’s clean and right for yourself and your neighbors by getting up a little earlier, even if just for a minute, to get your trash to the curb by 7AM. It will make all the difference in the world in front of your building…and will hopefully cause a ripple effect of more cleanliness throughout the neighborhood. Perhaps this is not the perfect final solution, but it certainly is a good start and would be an easy win for all. If only 5 or 10 people on each street take this suggestion to heart, it would be that much less trash sitting out all night available to be ripped open! Think about it! Thanks…

    1. What you and every other early morning trash supporter does not seem to grasp is that the human trash pickers will just modify the times they are out trolling the streets for bottles and cans. I have seen one trash picker racing to stay ahead of the trash collector at 8AM because he has competition at night and none in the morning hours.
      People should be shredding their bills and other things that could be used for identity theft purposes.

      BTW Vitriolic Viper…that building is low income not just senior housing.

      1. Yep. I’ve seen them too. Just waiting for me to put down the bag. I tell them to move off, but they go to the next pile only to return like birds as soon as I am gone.

        I would like to know whether the police even responded.

      2. JTF: The Ausonia is low income senior housing. How the druggies got in, I don’t know, but for sure, the building is set up for seniors who have very low income.

  2. That building across from the Golden Goose is filled with junkies. The Boston Police are aware of this. I had an incident there with a junkie years ago. Maybe we need to call the city for I think that building went from elderly housing to junkie housing.

    1. It was our former mayor’s idea to put junkies in there in the first place. They have been a constant menace to the elderly people who are also living there. It was the mayor’s philosophy, better to move them to our neighborhood than his neighborhood. Same philosophy got all the student housing moved here.

      Also, you can buy a small cross cut shredder for about $50 at Staples. Save up your shreds and throw it around at the next feast.

  3. The police are at neighborhood meetings…why aren’t people screaming at them at the meetings? I don’t think writing things on this site makes one iota of difference.

  4. Truth. I don’t want to ruin your day any more but some junkies qualify for low income housing and SSDI or SSI benefits because they found a loophole in the law.SSDI or SSI will not grant junkies benefits solely on their addiction but heres the catch if they can get a doctor to diagnose them as suffering from anxiety or depression due to their dependency they become eligible for benefits and are considered disabled.

  5. First of all the Fed Up with Trash Pickers and Crime did not make any mention of Senior Citizens living in the Commercial Street building.

    The reason for the post was clearly stated and was to alert people who place personal information in their trash. In doing this they would avoid fraudulent use by criminals who pick through our trash consistently. By the way not all trash pickers are drug addicts. I have seen trash Pickers as early as 7:00 AM tearing up bags.

    Yes, everyone young and old should have a shredder to avoid identity theft
    .
    We put our trash out in the morning on the regularly scheduled trash pick-up days as well.

    Also it was a very neighborly thing to do to alert the police so there would be a report on file in case Boston’s Inspectional Services Department issued a fine to them.

  6. My Mother broke the ground when Ausonia housing was built It was a great place to live all the elderly people had there doors unlocked so they could visit each other Thank God she moved out I had a friend who passed She had to leave her apartment and stay with a friend because it was broken into Well now they need 4 locks because all these criminals are in there oh because they have depression it’s just terrible that the elderly that are still there have to be scared like that where are the police? No security in place so these people are not only going through trash but they are stealing in the building!

  7. According to current residents, with whom I chat daily, there’s also a terrible bedbug problem at the Ausonia. So the trash pickers are just spreading the problem if they take away any household items with bugs. There was also a mugging in the alleyway/underpass between Fulton and Commercial on Sat. night.
    Right now, there’s a HUGE television sitting on the curb in front of a building on Fulton. If you know who left it out last night, please tell him/her to dispose of it properly – it must weigh hundreds of pounds, and the trash collectors won’t take it.

    1. Call the public works or go to the city website to schedule pick up of a TV set. Trash collection does not pick up TVs because they are a hazardous waste. But the City will pick them up if you notify them.

  8. Oh my adding on to that now I have to worry about walking home from the nursing home at night! This isn’t right there are some savory characters down that end

  9. Also that looks like your average ‘end of month move-out’ pile. The move-outs are huge problem. They dump everything they don’t want and flee the scene.

  10. BD & MD, Thank you so much for sharing your trash experience. It really makes me sick to my stomach that something
    this simple has gone into over 20 years of controversy, along with other major issues in the neighborhood. I don’t
    care what anyone tells you, Beacon Hill has a lot more going for them than the North End, these people stick together
    and go to Neighborhood Meetings. If everyone who attends these political fundraisers attended all our Neighborhood
    Meetings, just maybe we would get some attention.

        1. JTF: You sound like a fifth grader. Tit for Tat. Is that all you can come up with as a retort to my comment???

          1. you told North End Resident to move to Beacon Hilll and when I tell you to do the same you accuse me of being a fifth grader incapable of a better retort? You are rude, snotty and need to grow up marisa. You are picking a fight why?

            1. Your comment is precisely my point. Can’t you see how rude your comment is? How old are you anyway?
              Why is it impossible for people to share opinions without anger? I don’t get it. Is it the Italian temper?

            2. JTF: For your info, I will be 73 years old on May 30. I am of Irish and Italian heritage, and have traveled around the world and speak 3 languages, and have lived in the NE for 15 years. :You’re right, I should move, but cannot. Sorry if I hurt your feelings.

            3. JTF: We all understand that opinions and remarks are thrown out more easily on a web page.
              Many comments would NEVER be said face to face with a person. That is the danger of hiding behind blogs. Would you ever call me snotty to my face. That remark is unacceptable, and tells me more about your mentality. I think it is quite obvious that many of you take the chance of spewing out derogatory remarks, while hiding behind the internet. Cowards.

    1. No. End Resident: One cannot compare the residents of Beacon HIll to residents of the North End.
      Beacon Hill area has very rich families, for example, people around Louisburg Square, and people facing the Charles, as well as those who face the Common..
      So the ratio is off a bit. The ‘just so’ families who work for a living are obliged, in a way, to keep the area clean and respectable. Look where it is? The golden dome. No use comparing us to them. It’s a different ball game.

      1. money has nothing to do with class.. you can be wearing a rolex watch and have no class and wearing a timex and have class.. jus tbecause you have a million dollar bank account vs 50 thousand don’t make you a classy person.. beacon hill have maids and custodians to do the dirty work for them .. they wouldn’t know what a dust pan is.. id rather be a northender than a beacon hiller.. we eat good.. play hard and appreciate what ever we have and don’t have a sense of entitlement!

        1. @JoAnn: I know plenty of people that live on Beacon Hill that do not have maids, just like I know plenty of people in our neighborhood that have a sense of entitlement. Such broad generalizations doesn’t do any one any good. However, you are right, money has nothing to do with class.

  11. No. End Resident , your right, some people need to set their priorities in order. With all thats going on down here some people seem more concerned about the Prince spaghetti commercial.

  12. Very interesting, thank you! I agree, our neighborhood should be safe and protected from trash bags and inconsiderate people.

  13. Truth be told it s not only the Ausonia apartments but also the Mecantile Building apartments that has a constant flow of crack heads and junkies in and out 24/7. A friend of mine lives there and is terrified of these characters yet she is equally terified to report them to the management in fear of retaliation because whenever a tenant or someone who does not live there tries to report and make management aware of the druggies, the woman in charge makes the person calling out to be 6the villian demanding to know who they are where they live(if they are not a tenant) and asking them for there phone number. My guess is this lady must be in on the action because she refuses to even hear you out about the problem without your personal information. I also know a couple that moved out after witnessing several drug deals on their floor. Such a shame that these apartment buildings that enable low income people to live here has turned ghetto.

  14. Marisa Kemp, I have no intentions of moving to Beacon Hill, I am just stating the FACTS. People complain all the time about
    what is going on in this Neighborhood, but don’t show up at Neighborhood Meetings & wonder why things are the way
    they are. Strength is in Numbers, we don’t have the Numbers Beacon Hill has, DO YOU GET NOW.

  15. No. End Resident: Of course you’re not moving to Beacon Hill. And, enough of the sarcasm. Some of you guys are so rude…..there is no need of such a tone, especially when we are all fighting for the same causes. Not very kind of you.

  16. MARISA KEMP It wasn’t very nice of you to tell me to move to Beacon Hill and you got the reply you deserved, and
    according to this site you sound like you are batting 1,000, and I guess it isn’t just me who doesn’t care for your
    sarcastic remarks.

    1. NE Resident: Have you been reading these comments every day? Have you noticed the sarcasm and nastiness?
      I have never read anything very kind or supportive from one person to another. It’s always tit for tat, and truthfully, I no longer wish to participate at this level of endless “going nowhere” conversations. Now, don’t all of you clap and cheer when I say that I withdraw my name and interest from your daily battles, and I wish to place my energy elsewhere. Go to the meetings and bring your issues to the appropriate people, rather than tell each other off all the time. Signing off forever…….

  17. Marisa, Your past comments have been level headed and positive. I see that today you had problems with some of the men, who, by the way, were quite rude. No REAL man would respond to you so disrespectfully. I don’t blame you for cutting out of here. These NE people need to attend meetings and need to complain there….not on line….all the time. They are really very negative people.. I’m glad you fought back today.

  18. When comparing the N.E.to Beacon Hill one must remember that if Beacon Hill had a hundred restaurants within a few blocks which after a certain time of day cease being restaurants and become bars and had the foot traffic that the N.E. has constantly the residents of Beacon Hill would be facing the same issues and problems that the N.E. is experiencing.

    1. Beacon Hill is a different type of neighborhood. The people of the NE want the restaurants, obviously, so there you go. IF IF IF IF doesn’t exist.

  19. MICHAELD, KUDOS AGAIN, What most people don’t get is Beacon Hill would never allow what has been allowed
    down the North End regarding this far too great abundance of Restaurants in such a small area.

    There are Restaurants in Beacon Hill that don’t allow you to have a drink anytime of the day, unless you Eat.

    When I say strength is in Numbers, Beacon Hill wins the Prize by far, like it or not, THEY STICK TOGETHER, in the
    North End they want their neighbors or friends to go to the meetings, but yet you will see them at the political
    fundraisers. Everyone comes together in the No. End when something drastic happens, and then that wears off and
    they don’t appear anymore. What a shame, and the Worst is yet to come.

    Faneuil Hall, the Waterfront, half of No. Washington St, is no longer considered the No. End.

    Watch what happens to the Tennis Court, Eliot School, the No.End Park & Pool. This area will eventually be all
    high rises. Did anyone tell you the Rose Kennedy was going over the Big Dig and there were going to be apt.
    buildings? I never heard about these apt. buildings and I am sure plenty of people can say the same. Hopefully
    those of us that really care will be DEAD, the corruption is far too much for me to handle.

    1. What do you mean ‘most people don’t get’ —- don’t get what? How do you know what Beacon Hill wants or does not want? Who has privy to this information? I would not dabble in the affairs, or even try to guess what the folks on Beacon Hill want or don’t want. Do you know??

      1. I remember years ago, I attended a neighborhood meeting at the Nazzaro Center where someone from a Beacon Hill neighborhood association was invited to speak about a growing rat problem they were having and how they had successfully dealt with it. At the time, we didn’t have the issues that we have now, but I could see that we had one beginning as I walked home from work. I wanted to hear what the guy had to say, but a bunch of angry, frustrated people like yourself wouldn’t let him speak, claiming we didn’t have a rat problem. Well how are we doing today? They also had an issue with late night parties in students housed in Beacon Hill. They dealt with it, but look what we have now. Since you want to bring Beacon Hill into this, maybe some information sharing between neighborhood groups is a good thing. We might be able to learn things as history seems to show that they have these issues before we do.

    2. No. End Resident , Like everyone else I was under the impression[ because this is how they sold it to the public] that the Rose Kennedy Green-way was to be a pristine park and open area for people to stroll.That was my mistake and I should have known better. This is and will always be the way things are done in Boston broken promises and shady deals. This is the same mentality and people that tried to build a casino in an urban area.

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