BOSTON — Imagine paying thousands a month for a luxury apartment in the heart of Boston’s most expensive neighborhood and finding a needle on the lobby floor. That’s the reality in Back Bay.
A syringe was found inside the building at 131 Clarendon Street — a luxury apartment building that houses Flour Bakery — steps from where families walk in with strollers. Another was found inside the Boston Public Library. Not on the sidewalk outside. Not in an alley. Inside.
‘Took for granted how safe Boston has been’
A nearly 20-year Back Bay resident who runs the Instagram account @backbaysos has been quietly documenting what’s happening to the neighborhood. Needles. Open drug use. The kind of street-level disorder that longtime residents say they never used to see.
“Would maybe see a needle once or twice a year and now will see one almost weekly in the neighborhood,” the resident told Mass Daily News. “Really took for granted how historically safe and clean Boston has been.”
The account started last summer after the resident grew frustrated watching conditions worsen with no response from the people in charge.
“Had been noticing more needles and riff raff in the Back Bay and Beacon Hill neighborhoods last summer and wanted to vent about it somewhere,” they said. “Starting the account and paying closer attention to these problems really opened my eyes to how bad things have gotten under Wu.”
The resident pointed to a shift in the city’s approach to drug policy as a turning point.
“Clear worsening in presence of needles and open drug use in the last one to two years. Definitely has coincided with loss of needle exchange and new harm reduction strategy. Areas that were deemed ‘safe’ are no longer.”
From once a year to once a week
The resident said the change has been stark.
“Clear worsening in presence of needles and open drug use in the last one to two years,” they said. “Definitely has coincided with loss of needle exchange and new harm reduction strategy. Areas that were deemed ‘safe’ are no longer.”
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“Would maybe see a needle once or twice a year and now will see one almost weekly in the neighborhood.”
Once or twice a year to almost weekly. In Back Bay. Inside buildings.
And the data backs it up. Needle pickup requests across Boston surged 71% from 2022 to 2025. The city’s 311 system logged 10,736 needle complaints in 2024, and the numbers have only gotten worse — complaints climbed another 20% into 2025. Parts of the South End near Mass & Cass saw a 200-300% spike. Back Bay, once considered safely removed from the crisis, is now part of the map. Last month, MDN reported that Copley Square — one of the neighborhood’s most iconic public spaces — had been overrun with trash, needles, and empty containers, prompting Councilor Flynn to call for action.
The turning point, according to residents and city data alike, was June 2024 — when the city killed its Community Syringe Redemption Program. Since launching in 2020, the program had pulled roughly five million dirty needles off the streets and cut 311 syringe calls in half. The city said it ran out of money. The needles didn’t.
The policy — and the people pushing for more
The needle crisis didn’t happen by accident. It happened by policy.
Mayor Michelle Wu’s administration ended the city’s Community Syringe Redemption Program in June 2024 — a decision that removed the primary mechanism for getting needles off the street. Since then, the problem has exploded.
But while Back Bay residents are begging for fewer needles in their neighborhoods, left-wing activist groups are demanding more. Posters have appeared in the South End accusing Wu of killing people by reducing needle distribution.
A poster spotted in the South End accuses Mayor Wu’s policy of reduced needle distribution of causing increased rates of HIV, hepatitis, and death. Harm reduction advocates are pushing for more needle access — while residents in nearby neighborhoods say the needles are already everywhere.
“Mayor Wu’s Policy of Reduced Needle Distribution KILLS!” one poster reads, listing side effects including HIV, hepatitis, infection, and death. “Harm Reduction Saves Lives.”
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So Wu is getting hit from both directions — activists want her to hand out more needles, and the people stepping over them in their apartment lobbies want her to clean them up. And right now, neither side is getting an answer.
They tried to reach their councilor
Before starting the account, the resident tried the normal route.
“Tried to engage Sharon Durkan with emails about what we were noticing — to no avail.”
Boston City Councilor Sharon Durkan, who represents Back Bay. Residents say she has not responded to emails about worsening conditions in the neighborhood.
Sharon Durkan chairs the Planning, Development and Transportation Committee and represents Back Bay, Beacon Hill, Fenway, and Mission Hill. Critics say she’s one of Mayor Michelle Wu’s most reliable votes on the council — someone who pushes whatever the mayor wants, regardless of what constituents are saying.
This isn’t the first time she’s been accused of looking the other way.
Last summer, Councilor Ed Flynn filed a resolution to declare Mass & Cass a public health and safety emergency. Durkan blocked it — scuttling the resolution and saying she “didn’t agree with it.” The Boston Globe’s editorial board responded: “The Boston City Council isn’t doing its job by dodging tough issues.”
She also single-handedly blocked a $100 million audit of the city’s books using a procedural objection that prevented the vote from happening. Her own campaign finance filings show 736 Uber rides charged to her campaign account — while she chairs the city’s transportation committee.
The people tagging her on Instagram every week are the same ones she’s supposed to be fighting for. They’re finding needles in their lobbies and their library. And they can’t get an email back.
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