With dozens of migrant families using it as emergency shelter, the state-operated complex has been closed to the public and sports program that use its facilities since January.
City officials, volunteers and community members gathered to carol on a Mass and Cass corner Tuesday, optimistically heralding a brighter future for the area and its residents as the city heads into a new year.
In the month since city workers cleared a large tent encampment near Boston's South End, the streets remain tent-free. Several law enforcement agencies are involved in the effort to keep it that way, raising concerns about the impact to people seeking services for substance use disorders and mental health care.
Health advocates and some community leaders said the use of public funds for private security is unfortunate but needed for public safety. Boston police have concerns.
When the tents came down on Atkinson Street, the most visible workers on the street were wearing yellow vests. Those workers were formerly homeless or substance abusers themselves, many of whom had themselves once lived in the encampment.