Greenway | Newton MA News and Politics Blog

Following an arrest for an alleged rape along the Charles River path in Newton, Newton and Waltham police will host a community meeting on October 19th at 7:00 at the American Legion Post #440.

For a while now people have reported that the area has deteriorated. More trash can be found in the river and along the path, some of it attributed to an increase in the homeless population. Police say that the rape reported there on September 21 was an isolated incident between two members of the homeless community that had set up camp there.

On this site and on several others, people reported that they have called police over the past several months complaining of issues along the river. This meeting is an opportunity for the police to hear directly from concerned residents and businesses, and for those people to hear from police about actions being taken about the issue.

When: October 19th at 7:00pm

Where: American Legion Post #440, 295 California Street, Newton

Who: Lt. Martin Gaughan and Capt. Kevin O’Connell from Waltham PD; Lt. Bruce Apotheker from Newton PD

State Rep. Kay Kahn and State Sen. Cynthia Creem may also attend, as well as representatives from the DCR. This meeting is a direct result of the work of Alderman Ted Hess-Mahan and Alderman Alison Leary.