At the Jan. 12 meeting of the East River Neighborhood Association (ERNA), based in Hyde Park, residents living near Ross Field expressed their frustration with a certain softball league as well as just general lewd acts of disrespect that have occurred for years.

What makes the issue even worse, residents said, is the perceived neglect from local politicians and police over the ongoing issue. ERNA Barbara Hamilton is usually laid back and downright folksy during most meetings, but this past Monday, she appeared riled up when resident Mark Oliver pointed out that this would not be happening in other neighborhoods, the subtext being white neighborhoods.

And it’s a hard point to argue as neighborhoods like Roslindale and West Roxbury are known for their peaceful vibes. The Bulletin recently covered a COMPSTAT meeting of the West Roxbury Civic Improvement Association, finding that crime in West Roxbury is down 33 percent overall.

Fielding most of the complaints was Eddie Conley, who represents District 5 City Councilor Enrique Pepén. Conley defended City Hall and also appeared to sympathize with the residents who are going through what he called “hell,” mostly on the weekends.

In addition to the rowdy noise levels encompassing the park, Oliver said he and his wife, Joy, witnessed a drug deal in front of their house recently, which he assumed originated from the park. People take walks down quiet streets to do illicit activities. During a 911 call, the police dispatcher dismissed their complaint as they could not provide a license plate number.

Captain Joseph Boyle, representing the police on the virtual call, asked what the dispatcher did. Oliver said they asked his wife to go outside but she didn’t want to alert the alleged felons of her intentions.

The usual disturbances occur on Westminster by the hockey rink, but sometimes they come to Ayles Road as it is quieter, Oliver said. He said he is very concerned about the upcoming spring/baseball season and what that means for noise disturbances at Ross Park. One member on the call went as far as to say that she would not be responsible for her actions the next time she spots someone urinating on her yard.

Conley stated he would coordinate with E-18 officers and a representative of the Parks Department and Permitting to find out ways to deal with violators of the permits. Hamilton chimed in that she would be meeting with Southwest Boston Community Development Corporation (SWBCDC) regarding planting trees in Ross Field as many of them are dead.

Oliver who is usually vocal during these meeting got muted a few times and Hamilton at one point bluntly asked, “Mark, do you have anything more to say?” Not fazed, he replied, “Of course I do.” He asked, “Given all the problems around blocking driveways, public urination and drinking, why is the Parks Department offering the team who caused so many problems last year, another chance for a permit this year?”

“The issue that Parks has is that yes, there are individuals in these leagues who are making bad decisions, but what can Parks do to make sure that this isn't happening from the jump?” Conley asked, with emphasis on the word “jump.”

He continued, saying the Parks Department can look at each problematic team and deny the application but they want to go deeper and figure out ways to avoid even having problems via the application process, and they cannot confront a team until they apply, so they are in that stage at the moment. The issue now is on the application process and what each team needs to give, in terms of a deposit. Oliver said he would be very happy with a simple denial of application, as did others on the call.

Oliver brought up that Councilor Pepén and Cathy Baker-Eclipse of the Parks Department have both stated that the team in question from last year was guilty of several counts of misconduct and Pepén himself witnessed them, so why are they receiving an opportunity for application?

“They are not from the area,” Conley said. “They have nothing invested. They’re just here on the weekends. We had a really bad summer last year. If this were happening in different parts of the city, this would not be allowed. It’s like we are being ignored up here this way.”

Conley said more enforcers from the Parks Department will make sure that when complaints are filed about parks in Hyde Park, they would receive more attention. “It’s something we are happy to support.” Dan Asia asked for a date on the meeting with the Parks Department and notification to neighbors. Conley said he would e-mail Hamilton or Patricia Odom (who also leads ERNA) with the details, within the next 30 days and after the applications go out. DanAsia asked when the applications go out; Conley didn’t know the answer.

A participant called Ck asked about the possibility of a petition against this one group, causing mayhem. Conley stressed that the Parks Department needed a very objective criteria for disallowing a team because if they don’t, discrimination becomes an issue. “Obviously we know teams are disrespecting it but it is a public space so access to the public space needs to be as objective as possible because otherwise certain people aren’t getting access. It’s this weird area that public services operates in.”

A resident interjected, “so it’s a money thing.” Conley laughed and said, “no it’s not a money thing. It’s more like a discrimination thing. If you are barring this group on the basis of people don’t like them then that’s not going to fly so there needs to be documented violations of park rules and the contract they signed with their application.” Another reason not to deny an application is that the applying team could flip the situation on the city and Conley joked he would defer to a lawyer at that point. “The easier way to go about it is to make it more difficult to gain an application and a lot of documentation on infractions.”

Ck asked if residents took multiple photographs/videos of each infraction would this help oust the offending team and Conley said, “absolutely.” Hamilton piped in and defended Oliver and other residents and said “we have been hearing for years about stories of Ross Field. I would appreciate the neighbors near the Park to assist in making claims, not just the ones right across from the park.” Oliver thanked her and said he felt he was the one being discriminated against due to the lack of action on the issue. Odom said she agreed.