Dedham epicenter of migrant crisis
ZBA meeting packed for catering expansion that is rejected
A packed ZBA meeting in Dedham was ground zero for the Bay State’s migrant crisis last night.
Residents both objected and pleaded for passage of a request to expand a catering facility at a shuttered restaurant for migrant families living in a Dedham hotel.
The proposal was ultimately denied.
“This is going to turn into the next Mass and Cass,” one resident said early in the zoning meeting. He was referring to the mess along Boston’s socalled Methadone Mile that forced the city to ban tents and find shelter for opioid addicts.
“I am in total support of this proposal … I want to know who is bashing this — this is racism,” said another impassioned resident.
It came during a lengthy public comment period as Zoning Board of Appeals members listened to concerns about the request.
Giri Dedham, a subsidiary of Giri Hotel Management, appeared before the town’s ZBA to request a special permit to allow for expansion of a “kitchen-only” facility at the former Victory Grille on Elm Street.
The shuttered restaurant is associated with the Fairfield Inn by Marriott Boston Dedham, which is one of two hotels in town being used to house homeless and newly arrived migrant families as part of the state’s emergency assistance shelter program, the other being the Holiday Inn.
The ZBA told the crowd the board wanted to “keep it civil” as one speaker after another.
The board was told 400 migrants were already being served meals, being paid for by the state, and the former Victory Grille would ramp up that process and allow for use of a “catering van to transport the meals to the hotels.”
“It’s a shame that the inner city kids of Boston aren’t getting three meals a day and a warm bed,” another Dedham resident said.
Lost hotel taxes, job opportunities and other needs of the migrants were also brought up putting the ZBA members in the midst of a crisis Gov. Maura Healey has pushed down to cities and towns who are left to find places to house newcomers.
“Are you collaborating with any partners on job training to get people out of the system? I have no problem with people coming from other countries, I do have a problem with people who are here and work hard and don’t get anything before them,” a resident said. “I don’t want to see anyone living in a hotel. Don’t keep them in a hotel.”
That, however, is not up to the ZBA.
The loudest applause came from a fellow resident who said the idea would hurt the town.
“While the company may benefit from it, we need to look at the impact to residents. Are they really committing to or looking to invest in the town?” the resident said. “The company intends to bid on other state contracts. Our town cannot support any additional stresses.”
The ZBA denied the plan and moved on to other business.
There are 161 families, including newly arrived migrants, living between the two Dedham hotels, Fairfield Inn and Holiday Inn, that have been tapped as part of the state’s emergency shelter program.
A recent tally from the state showed 7,526 families living in emergency shelters, with nearly 700 on a waiting list.
Those numbers don’t include the number of migrants entering the state as individuals. Massachusetts is required to house homeless families due to its rightto-shelter law.