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Walking across Boston's Clifford Park, a community activist points out drug needles and related paraphernalia.

"A bag that has heroin in it," Domingos DaRosa said as he pointed to one of the many items scattered on the ground.

DaRosa, a youth football coach and a former at-large candidate for Boston's City Council, also observes the people hanging out along the park fences.

"He's tripping right now," DaRosa said about one man.

DaRosa said he cleans up drug paraphernalia in the park, which features ballfields and a playground, nearly every day. Sometimes, he also confronts drug users.

"Y'all can't just be sitting here doing what y'all are doing. Have some respect for these kids," said DaRosa.

The park is about one-half mile away from the epicenter of Boston's addiction and homelessness crisis, the intersection of Mass. Ave. and Melnea Cass. The city bulldozed the tent encampments there months ago, but several new structures have popped up and hundreds of people still line the sidewalk and many continue using drugs openly.

"Are some of the same people hanging out in this park the same people as at Mass and Cass?" NewsCenter 5's David Bienick asked.

"Yeah, same exact people," DaRosa answered.

In May, Mayor Michelle Wu announced a plan to bring drug users to treatment centers in other neighborhoods but neighbors and Boston City Councilor Erin Murphy say the problems are spreading.

"Definitely spreading up to Andrews Station, Edward Everett Square. We are getting lots of concerns for neighborhoods a mile, two miles outside of Mass. and Cass," said Murphy.

A needle-disposal box is located in Clifford Park and the city said police officers regularly patrol the area. City teams are also assigned to picking up needles twice per day.

Still, DaRosa is worried that someone will accidentally get jabbed by one of the many needles on the ground.

"They need to treat this area just the same way they treat any other area in the city and give the services that we need," he said.

Murphy is planning to host a community cleanup here in Clifford Park on Saturday and is calling for the City Council to hold a hearing about the problems here.

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