A South Boston lawmaker cautioned the state against using a Fort Point office building for a migrant overflow shelter, saying that squeezing families together in a space without proper bathroom facilities could lead to a “public health crisis.”
Speaking at an evening press conference two days after the news broke that the state was considering the use of a private Seaport building for migrant families, state Sen. Nick Collins urged the governor’s office to shift its focus to “facilities that can create the type of living arrangements that are required.”
“I think it’s really important to look at locations that don’t create a public health challenge,” Collins said Friday outside the Boston Tea Party & Ships Museum, where he was joined by two city councilors who have been critical of the proposal.
Noting that the influx of migrants taxing the state’s emergency shelter system continues to be a “fluid situation,” given the steady stream of new arrivals fleeing dangerous situations in their home countries, particularly Haiti, Collins suggested that the state consider the Mount Ida Campus of UMass Amherst in Newton.
Prior to its absorption into the UMass system in 2018, Mount Ida was a full campus college serving roughly 1,500 students, Collin said, pointing to its existing accommodations that include dorms, showers, bathrooms, and a cafeteria.
“What we don’t want to see is a public health crisis,” Collins said. “Big picture, we want to make sure that the folks that are in need of support are getting it, and are getting it in a safe and effective way.”
He did say, however, that in this instance, the owner of the private Seaport office building under consideration was receptive to setting aside space to house migrant families, and that “it would be foolish for the state and city not to take a look.”
A day after the Herald broke the news that the state was considering using the property at 24 Farnsworth St. as a safety-net site, a spokesperson for the owner, Unitarian Universalist Association, confirmed that a migrant overflow shelter was being discussed as a “short-term use.”
“Conversations are underway,” the UUA spokesperson said Thursday, but “we have not yet finalized those plans.”
Mayor Michelle Wu said Friday that “the state is working with the property owner to evaluate” that potential use for the site.
“They’re looking for every possible location to provide some relief and at this point it seems even sites that are going to need a little bit of work in terms of showers and bathrooms are under consideration as well,” Wu said, two days after stating that the migrant overflow site at a Roxbury recreation center was quickly reaching its 400-person capacity a week after opening.
The city is “waiting to hear what the decision is,” the mayor added.
City Councilor-at-Large Erin Murphy said at the presser that the city has relayed to councilors that the governor’s office is reaching out to office managers throughout the state, including Boston, seeking available space, and that this particular owner, UUA, stated that they have 10,000 square-feet to work with.
The governor’s office confirmed Friday that United Way of Massachusetts Bay, which received a $5 million grant from the administration to fund safety-net sites for migrant families last fall, “is considering the Farnsworth Street site as a safety-net shelter.”
No new sites have been confirmed, the office of Gov. Maura Healey said.
Collins said he expected the governor’s office to make a decision in the next “several weeks,” which would provide ample time for community discussions and for both residents and South Boston lawmakers on the city, state and federal level to get answers to their questions.
Collins, state Rep. David Biele, U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch and City Councilor Ed Flynn, who attended Friday’s press conference, plan to host a community meeting on an undetermined date to discuss their questions and concerns with “the appropriate authorities,” reads a press statement from those elected officials.
“Right now, there are more questions than answers,” Collins said.
While information on how many migrant families could be housed at the Fort Point office building has not been shared, Biele stated in an email obtained by the Herald that the site would be similar to one opened by Catholic Charities in Newton through the United Way grant program.
That site, according to a prior press release from Catholic Charities, could accommodate up to 30 families, or roughly 81 people.
A United Way spokesperson said many factors are taken into consideration before moving forward with safety-net sites, including obtaining certificates of occupancy, adequate staffing plans to meet the basic needs of families, municipal support, compliance with zoning and fire codes, and availability of affordable housing.
The governor’s emergency declaration for migrant arrivals straining the state’s shelter system overrides local zoning regulations, meaning that overflow shelters can be placed anywhere, according to Collins, Murphy and Flynn.
“Having zero showers for maybe 20-25 families is very difficult,” Flynn said of the Fort Point site, adding that it should be a “non-starter” for the proposal. “We don’t want to set families up for failure.”
