Outrage as Massachusetts Dem’ governor closes cherished sports center in majority-black Boston suburb for FOUR MONTHS so it can be used to house migrants

An underserved Boston community is “on fire” after the Massachusetts governor requisitioned a vital recreation center to accommodate the flow of migrants arriving in the city.

Democrat Maura Healey was accused of treating the Roxbury neighborhood “like garbage” after locking out residents from the Melnea A. Cass Recreational Complex with less than 48 hours’ notice.

She stressed the need to accommodate the new arrivals, dozens of whom have been sleeping rough at the city’s airport for months.

But residents of the predominantly black neighborhood demanded she explain why their beloved facilities were chosen to take the hit.

“You’re really putting us in a bad, bad situation,” resident Rodney Singleton told her at a public meeting, “and that’s not fair.”

The neglected facility will receive a $500,000 makeover to make it suitable for the 125 families expected to move, Senator Liz Miranda told the Boston sphere.

‘The outrage you see is justified. Roxbury has never received its fair share from the city and state,” she added.

“I hope West Roxbury steps up, I hope Wellesley steps up, and other communities that have rich resources.”

Massachusetts shelters reached capacity in November, with 7,500 families in the system. Some are now housed in hospital waiting rooms and church halls.

Migrants are expected to move into the Roxbury location on Wednesday as it becomes the state’s fourth “safety net” location for those waiting for a spot in Massachusetts’ emergency shelter system.

But it is also home to community sports groups that provide a valuable outlet for vulnerable young people.

“It’s the long-term effect that we’re concerned about,” said Domingos DaRosa of the Boston Bengals youth athletic organization.

“Reengaging these kids may not be as easy as 1-2-3.”

Said Hassan Ahmed of Boston United Track and Cross Country said the decision had immediately left his program “homeless.”

The Roxbury center is home to more than a dozen programs and community groups

“We walked in and the people at the front desk said, ‘Just to let you know today is your last day,’” he said. “We were told our permit had been revoked and we were out.”

State officials have predicted the migrant crisis could cost Massachusetts $915 million this year and Healey has asked for another $250 million in federal funds.

The state’s shelter system reached capacity in November when it fell victim to the surge of people at the southern border.

The scenes at Boston airport are similar to those at Chicago’s O’Hare, where 216 migrants slept in early January.

Greg Abbott, the governor of Texas, has been sending busloads of migrants from his northern state since 2022 to get Democratic mayors and governors to share his fight — and to put pressure on Joe Biden.

‘We need DC to take action. We need Congress to take action,” Healey said at a news conference last week.

“The path is there in terms of what needs to happen to resolve the border situation, to resolve some of the asylum processes and to get some much-needed funding for some of the interior states that have had to bear the burden for a problem that is geopolitical and not created by the state.’

Dozens of migrants are sleeping at the city’s O’Hare Airport

Healey promised that the recreation center, which features a popular swimming pool and a 24,000-square-foot indoor field house, would reopen to the public in June.

“The fact that they can’t tell us today that they have alternate locations for the programs that they moved is just despicable to me,” said former State Senator Dianne Wilkerson.

‘It’s inexplicable. It should not be acceptable on any level.”

‘I don’t know what we’re going to do in a few, three months. I will call universities, I will call other places,” Healey told residents at a community forum Monday night.

“Wealthy communities are not going to get this,” one resident told her. “It’s disrespectful.”

‘Roxbury is on fire! On the right track! And this is a wake-up call,” Derrick Evans added.

“So there’s no plan for the kids in Roxbury?” asked another resident.

“The state takes care of the migrants, so who takes care of the children in Roxbury?”