Cicconi & Sons' lawbreaking activities

Posted by John B. Kelly

I knew that I had seen that name, Ciccone & Sons, before. Here are the photographs to prove it:



This site, Hemenway Street at the Forsyth Institute walkway, was inaccessible for almost a week while construction inched along.



The next one really gets my goat, because I discovered these violations on my way back from a meeting with DPW commissioner Joseph Casazza on September 29, 2005. On the way out Beacon Street, I got caught in a drenching downpour, and because of the dug up sidewalks and no temporary access, had to travel in the street.

This was the meeting in which Commissioner Casazza said that he relies on the "good sense" of his engineers regarding maintenance of access. He said that a sidewalk inaccessible overnight might be one thing (as in, that would be OK), but over the weekend, well... and here he held up his hand showing that that might not be the best outcome.

He kept saying, over and over again, that sidewalk construction was an inconvenience for everyone, that no one could use the sidewalks during construction. He did not seem to understand that whereas able-bodied people can step up and down and around, people who use wheelchairs (and lots of other people, too) need smooth surfaces. I guess no one ever convinced him that we deserve the civil rights that we now supposedly have.

The meeting was on a Thursday, and the following picture was taken two days later, Saturday, October 1. Have a nice weekend!


Alyson Perry, Saddle, and John Kelly walking in Beacon Street, October 2005

And here is a view looking from Beacon Street up Charlesgate West towards the Fenway. As you can see, able-bodied people must risk their lives in the streets sometimes, too.



Moving along to local construction this year, the following picture is from the intersection of Brookline Avenue and the Fenway. Here, Ciccone & Sons completely closed down the sidewalks.



And here is a close-up of the same scene, with the natural result that pedestrians are in the street seriously endangered:



I think this same contractor also did the work on Pilgrim Road that resulted in both sidewalks being closed down, but I will have to check the permits to make sure.

Can anyone say "pattern and practice," those magic legal words that we use to establish discrimination?