A community meeting in the Boston's Downtown Crossing neighborhood focused on safety after months of crime and drug activity in the area. 

Over the past several months, downtown shop owners and residents have complained about increased vandalism, robberies, drug activity and violence, including several incidents of teens wreaking havoc up and down Washington Street. 

Downtown Boston has faced a surge in public safety issues over the past 18 months, with rising concerns about discarded needles, shoplifting and recent stabbings, according to community members.

Residents and business owners call these issues “urgent” threats to their neighborhood, and prompted city leaders to schedule a special meeting on Thursday night to think through solutions.

As crime has reached a 7-year high in Downtown Crossing, Boston’s mayor, top cop and prosecutor are blaming congregate drug use from Mass and Cass spillover and plan to focus on treating, rather than arresting, many drug users and dealers. 

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu announced an expansion of the city’s efforts to crack down on public drug use in response to rising complaints from residents.

The mayor cited “quality of life issues, the impacts of the opioid crisis and the many challenges that residents are facing.”

The Black Seed Halal Grill sits on Tremont Street facing the Boston Common, a setting that should be considered prime and draw plenty of customers.

Every day, though, crowds gather outside to do drugs and people end up fighting, said owner Ibraham Ibraham, making diners feel uncomfortable and hesitant to enter his eatery.

A 7-year high in crime in the Downtown Crossing and Boston Common area is uniting leaders from across the city and state for a closed-door meeting on Thursday night.

More than 70 elected leaders, public health officials, law enforcement members, civic leaders, and other active stakeholders are expected to attend.

When Mayor Michelle Wu and Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox held a press conference in December to highlight the year’s crime stats, the message was clear: With homicides hitting a multidecade low, Boston hasn’t been this safe in a long time.

But what about downtown? Many people who live or work there still feel unsafe walking around. So neighborhood leaders will meet with state and city politicians and law enforcement officials on Thursday, Feb. 27, to discuss a different message: What are we going to do about making it a safer place?

A cup of hot coffee flung at the wall of his 7-Eleven store was the price Philip Minias paid for confronting one would-be shoplifter.

Open round-the-clock, the corner store in Boston’s Downtown Crossing is a prime target for a casual thief intent on swiping snacks and beverages.

Amid furor among many downtown residents, Boston officials will delay a zoning proposal that would allow for 500-foot skyscrapers along Washington Street in Downtown Crossing.

The move is the latest twist in a years-long process to rezone the neighborhood at the core of downtown, and one that crystallizes the clashing political and practical realities of Mayor Michelle Wu’s promises to both honor community-led planning and build enough to tackle Boston’s massive housing shortage.

The Boston Police Department is in the midst of a “very deliberate pivot” meant to address growing public safety concerns in specific areas around the city, including the downtown area in and around Boston Common. 

Deputy Superintendent Dan Humphreys laid out the current strategy during a Boston City Council hearing on Tuesday. The goal is to increase the visibility of police officers in certain problem areas and to emphasize community engagement, with an eye towards addressing quality of life issues and making people feel safer in their communities.