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Watchdog demands plans for empty Long Island buildings costing taxpayers millions

By Eric Rasmussen and Erin Smith
By Eric Rasmussen and Erin Smith
A city watchdog is calling on Boston officials to come up with a plan for the abandoned buildings on Long Island, which have taxpayers on the hook for more than $5 million. 

BOSTON — "This is going to require the city to really make tough decisions," said Sam Tyler, president of the Boston Municipal Research Bureau.

FOX25 Investigates first reported Sunday night that Boston is on track to blow through nearly $5.5 million in tax dollars to keep the lights on and the heat running inside empty buildings on Long Island, which once hosted about 1,000 beds for the homeless and recovering drug addicts. The island was evacuated nearly two years ago and the only bridge connecting the island to the mainland was demolished.
>> READ MORE: FOX25 Investigates: Abandoned buildings on Boston's Long Island costing taxpayers millions
Tyler said Boston doesn't have the estimated $90 million to rebuild the bridge, and he's concerned about the city's lack of a long-term plan for the Boston Harbor island.

"Decisions need to be made so those costs don’t continue," Tyler told FOX25.

Those costs include a bill for more than $1.2 million for oil to heat empty buildings.

Taxpayers are also paying $300 an hour for a barge to transport heating oil and supplies to Long Island – part of a $600,000 annual contract, which includes daily ferry services for city workers. City officials said the barge contractor submitted the lowest bid two years ago.

FOX25 Investigated has learned city dollars funded 61 round trips between Hull and Long Island in the last year. Taxpayers also footed the bill for another 213 trips from Squantum and 444 hours of "barge service."

"I can assure you that our budget and finance staff are actually taking a really hard look at the ferry and transportation budget," Monica Valdes-Lupi of the Boston Public Health Commission told FOX25.

The Boston Public Health Commission oversees the island. FOX25 Investigates went to Long Island and saw the lights were still on in several buildings. When FOX25 asked to go inside those buildings, the city denied that request, citing safety concerns. 

City officials told FOX25 all beds for the homeless lost on Long Island have been replaced on the mainland. But Victory Programs, a nonprofit that serves those in addiction recovery, has yet to recover all the beds it left behind on Long Island and its waiting list for those seeking treatment continues to grow.

Last month, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh touted early successes with an action plan to end chronic and veteran homelessness by 2018. FOX25 Investigates has been in touch with the Mayor’s Office and expects to speak with him soon about spending on Long Island and plans for its future

Stay with FOX25 for updates on this story.

Cox Media Group

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