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New Bedford Police Need to Step It Up at Pocket Parks [OPINION]
New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell is opposed to closing two so-called pocket parks on Acushnet Avenue despite calls from several members of the city council to shut them down.
The parks, one at Nye Street and the other at Phillips Avenue, are hot spots for crime, prompting Ward 2 Councilor Maria Giesta to seek out alternative uses for the property. Giesta and At-Large Councilor Deb Coelho, who lives near the Nye Street park, said drug dealing, sex acts, prostitution, and all sorts of illicit behavior are rampant in the parks after dark.
New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell said the city will soon apply for a federal SAFER grant to help the New Bedford Fire Department “transition from a rough period financially for the city.”
Mitchell also told WBSM host Barry Richard on Wednesday that local fire union officials have been overstating the city’s reliance on mutual aid from surrounding communities during major structure fires in New Bedford.
“It’s the kind of thing you hear from the fire unions. It’s one big union, they re pressing their case for not doing as much coverage as they d like,” said Mitchell, who cited statistics from the New Bedford Fire Department that he said show mutual aid calls having decreased in recent years.