Hecklers force Mayor Michelle Wu to abruptly end Mass and Cass news conference

BOSTON – Hecklers forced Boston Mayor Michelle Wu to abruptly end a press conference Thursday about ongoing efforts to fix issues surrounding homeless encampments in the area known as Mass and Cass.

Wu held a press conference Thursday morning at Clifford Playground in Roxbury.

Protesters stood behind Wu holding signs. When the press conference began, Wu spoke for several minutes as the crowd chanted messages including “Shame on Wu.”

“It’s hard to stand here and talk to you all about how much progress we’ve made when I know it still feels like the city is bearing so much and so visibly shaken and upset by the depth of substance use disorder, mental health and homelessness that we are still struggling to meet the demand to serve,” Wu said as she opened her remarks.

Wu paused, asking the protesters to quiet down. She told one man “I respect and appreciate your passion,” but asked if they could speak after the press conference.

“I would just ask that we could share some information with the public and get these details out to have transparency about what we’re doing,” Wu said. “There’s a lot of noise, but I want to be able to share some of the information that we’ve been working on.”

When the jeers continued, Wu ended the press conference and said she would instead talk to reporters in a different location.

“If we’re going to do it like this, we are going to pull this down and talk to folks on the side,” Wu said.

On Wednesday, city officials moved homeless residents off of busy Southampton Street and down Atkinson Street, citing safety issues.