Mayor Tom Koch says he made the decision to include controversial statues in the façade of Quincy’s new public safety headquarters, but he doesn’t remember when.
The NBC10 Boston Investigators have uncovered new information about Quincy's new $170 million public safety headquarters and the controversial religious statues that are being added to the building's façade.
The 10-foot tall bronze statues depict St. Michael the Archangel and St. Florian, the patron saints of police and firefighters. Quincy Mayor Tom Koch says their combined cost is $850,000.
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Critics, including the ACLU and Americans United for Separation of Church and State, say the statues of religious figures violate the state and U.S. Constitutions' separation of church and state. Some city residents and Quincy city councilors told NBC10 Boston that they were upset that they just learned of the statues last month.
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Koch says he takes responsibility for the controversy.
"The decision on statues was mine," the mayor said. "I did obviously talk to architects and engineers to see how [the statues] could fit … But no, I never went back to the council, nor did I inform the councilors individually … This is on me, for sure."
Records obtained by the NBC10 Boston Investigators show the mayor made the decision to include the statues in the project as early as 2023. Invoices show multiple payments made to sculptor Sergey Eylanbekov dating back to November of that year.
The NBC10 Boston Investigators also examined past Quincy City Council meetings where the project was discussed in 2024, but there was no mention of the statues being added. The current artist renderings by architecture firm KBA don't show them.
Koch told NBC10 Boston that it is not unusual for city projects to change after initial approval.
"After the project was approved by the City Council, just like any other building project we have, the design and the project continue to evolve. That's happened with a number of school buildings and other municipal buildings. It's never really finalized in the architectural form right at the appropriation time," Koch said. "When the building was designed, we had a pair of architects involved in looking at the exterior, and it's a beautiful building, but we decided to make some changes on it and some additions in the area of public art."
Koch maintains the statues will appear on the building and told NBC10 Boston that he has received positive feedback on his decision.
"I have received countless letters, emails and calls on how many people that love this. It is almost universal, both in the police and the firefighters. They are very happy with the look of the images," he said. That was the goal for me, to honor and please our firefighters and police officers. I think we've done that."
