Mayor Walsh defends Long Island spending to FOX25

BOSTON — Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh spoke to FOX25's Eric Rasmussen exclusively about the millions of taxpayer dollars being spent on empty buildings on Long Island.

FOX25 Investigates first reported on Sunday night that the city is on track to dole out nearly $5.5 million to keep the lights on and the heat running inside abandoned buildings on the Boston Harbor island since it was evacuated nearly two years ago. Long Island once hosted about 1,000 beds for the homeless and those recovering from addiction before the only bridge connecting it to the mainland was demolished.

Only on FOX25, new details are being revealed about Long Island spending. The city has spent more than $300,000 on overtime in the past two years for engineers to stay on the island overnight and monitor generators, FOX25 Investigates uncovered.

Walsh defended that expense when FOX25 caught up with him Tuesday afternoon. He told FOX25 the buildings on Long Island remain the city's responsibility and can't fall into disrepair.

"Because we have assets we want to preserve for the future," Walsh told FOX25 when asked about "We don’t know what’s going to happen out there. If we stop running water and electricity to those buildings, they’re going to fall into disrepair. It’s going cost even more money."

City official say electricity use on Long Island is "minimal" and the bill includes charges from a nearby kids' summer day camp and a neighboring island but couldn't provide an exact figure.

While all the addiction recovery beds lost on the island haven't been replaced, Walsh told FOX25 the city has made up for the homeless beds that were once on Long Island.

But Walsh couldn't give FOX25 an answer about the future of those empty buildings on the island.

"We don’t have a long term plan right now," Walsh told FOX25. "We’re still working through to see what we do in the long term. We don’t know what it’s going to be. At the end of the day, it’s going to come down to where do we get the money to build this new bridge."

Walsh told FOX25 the biggest challenge is the cost of building a new bridge to Long Island.

Walsh says the city doesn't have the estimated $100 million it would cost, but he told FOX25 he may seek help from the state or federal government.

Cox Media Group