BRIDGE TAKES RIGHTS TURN
Rollins to look into factors blocking rebuild of harbor span through lens of ADA
U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins is opening up an investigation into whether Quincy’s opposition to the Long Island Bridge amounts to civil-rights violations in the latest turn in the years-long saga over building an addiction-recovery campus out on the island.
In a letter obtained by the Herald from Rollins to Quincy Mayor Thomas Koch dated May 12, the U.S. attorney wrote that her office is “initiating an investigation” into Quincy over the Americans with Disabilities Act, which includes language forbidding discrimination against people with substance-abuse issues.
“Pursuant to our authority under the ADA, we are investigating the City of Quincy’s various efforts regarding the reconstruction of the Long Island Bridge,” Rollins wrote. “This includes, but is not limited to, the Quincy Conservation Commission’s denial of an Order of Conditions
for rebuilding the bridge, the Quincy City Council’s enactment of new permitting requirements for bridges, and the Quincy City Council’s enactment of restrictions on vehicular access to Moon Island.”
Rollins wrote in the letter that the investigation is in its “preliminary stage,” and that her civilrights unit was sending over a request for information about various aspects of Quincy’s opposition to the bridge, which would in theory lead to a future addiction-recovery campus. The letter says Quincy has 30 days to turn the information over to Rollins.
“I believe the interests of both the public and the City of Quincy will best be served by the City’s full cooperation in providing our office with complete and accurate information in a timely manner,” the U.S. attorney wrote.
Koch’s chief of staff, Chris Walker, told the Herald, “We look forward to working cooperatively with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and providing them with all the information they’ve requested and any information we have on what the City of Boston has shared on their plans that formed the basis of any regulatory decisions made locally here.”
The bridge saga has continued for more than a half decade, emerging immediately when thenBoston Mayor Martin Walsh announced he wanted to rebuild the bridge, which until 2014 carried traffic from Moon Island, which is owned by Boston but is part of Quincy, and Long Island, which is a Boston Island that the capital city also owns.
Quincy officials and residents were essentially united in furious opposition to the plan, saying the increased traffic through the smaller Squantum-neighborhood streets would be dangerous.