By Afia Asamoah and Veronica Kogan
South End and Roxbury residents expressed their list of frustrations regarding their communities to District 7 Councilor Miniard Culpepper.
Their concerns included the longstanding drug crisis at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard, rat infestations, and a lack of opportunities to provide input on local policy issues.
This was the third installment of the recently inaugurated councilor’s listening tour, held at Northeastern Crossing in the South End. This was held on Feb. 5, 2026.
The tour is designed to allow Culpepper to hear his constituents’ needs before drafting new legislation, Communications Director Bayle Vines said.
“Each ward is so different and so unique in its needs and its priorities that it wouldn’t be productive to have one huge meeting with people in different neighborhoods,” Vines said. “He [Culpepper] wants to go to each ward and meet them where they are.”
South End residents are “living with the problems every single day,” regarding the public drug use and crime reported in the area locally known as Mass. and Cass, said John Stillwaggon, co-president of the Worcester Square Area Neighborhood Association and South End resident.
Stillwaggon said drug users openly shoot up drugs, assault residents, and leave needles on the sidewalk.
“It’s criminal what everyone has to put up with,” Stillwaggon said.
Needle complaints in the South End increased by 21% between 2024 and 2025, according to 311 data.
Stillwaggon believes “there’s a certain level of disrespect” coming from Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s office and some of the city councilors regarding Mass. and Cass.
“We are…fighting for the neighborhood, fighting for everyone that’s there,” said Stillwaggon.
Brian McCarter, another longtime South End resident, said he and Stillwaggon have been featured in local media outlets such as the Boston Globe and the Boston Herald for their efforts to bring attention to the problems faced by residents living near Mass. and Cass.
“It seems to fall on deaf ears at the city level,” McCarter said, concerning the safety issues residents face.
In response, Councilor Culpepper said the city council has adopted a resolution in support of implementing a recovery campus for unhoused individuals struggling with addiction.
“The goal is to serve the folks most in need,” Culpepper said.
Residents also raised concerns about the rampant rat infestations and overflowing trash bins in the South End and Roxbury.
There were over 2000 rat complaints per square mile in the South End over the past four years, according to 311 data from Analyze Boston from Oct. 1, 2021, to Sept. 30, 2025.
Many blamed the rat problem on open dumpsters and residents’ failure to dispose of trash properly.
“One idea was to get actual trash bins for the South End, which, you know, everyone says we want, but the problem has always been where to put [them],” Brian McCarter said.
Many residents suggested that forming partnerships within the community would be a step in the right direction to help resolve community concerns.
“We’ve been asking those who are in attendance to be part of a small group to help begin working on some of these issues that you’ve been raising tonight with my office,” Culpepper said. “So it won’t be all on my office; it will be in partnership [with] the residents.”
Carol Bleir, a South End resident of 27 years, suggested community members take inspiration from the 2019 Shawmut Avenue Community Day, which brought public servants, religious leaders and community members together.
“We got a permit to close Shawmut Avenue and basically play in the street,” Bleir said. “It helped people claim the street and gave the people a sense of ownership.”
Culpepper assured constituents that his team would remain in touch to help provide solutions and thanked them for their contributions.
“Hopefully we can all work as partners,” Culpepper said, “because it’s not about me; it’s about we.”
Afia Asamoah and Veronica Kogan are students in the Boston University Journalism program. This story is a partnership between The Boston Sun and the Boston University Journalism program.