Shop owners in Boston say they were not told about construction work, now they are losing business
BOSTON – Stores in Boston's Charlestown neighborhood say they are losing business after construction work began on Main Street. The shops are barely visible behind the equipment and orange cones.
Boston Water and Sewer crews are doing much-needed maintenance work on the pipes around the neighborhood. However, the caution tape, noise, and construction equipment are impacting small businesses in the area.
"That's the first customer I had today in two hours, and I probably won't get another one, I hate to say it, all day," Betty, a consignment store employee told WBZ-TV.
"Put some of us out of business"
It's slow because the shop's front door is a construction zone, with crews climbing in and out of a giant hole in the roadway.
"It's not even blasting right now. You gotta hear the noise. They blast all day long," the employee said.
"It's going to put some of us out of business," Amanda Mitchell added.
Mitchell owns two businesses in Charlestown – both impacted by the construction.
"No one said anything that there would be construction at all," she said outside her boutique, Place and Gather. She showed up to work, surprised to see a giant hole at her front door.
"When you come in the morning and there are giant holes and the sidewalk is closed from all the way down there to all the way around the corner," Mitchell explained. "Customers, Freedom Trail walkers don't know how to physically get down over here."
Boston says they notify residents two weeks before
The Boston Water and Sewer Commission said they notify businesses and residents by mail two weeks before construction begins. Parking notices go up two days before the work starts.
"The Boston Water and Sewer Commission (BWSC) sends notices to residents and businesses who are affected by replacement or rehabilitation of our infrastructure (water, sewer, and drainage systems) two weeks prior to commencement of the work. In addition to the customer notifications mailed to residents and businesses prior to the commencement of work, the contractor also posts No Parking Notices on vehicles within the active work zone 48 hours in advance. BWSC apologizes if a business or a resident did not receive a notice of the construction work." said BWSC Spokesperson Tom Bagley.
"I got zero heads up here," Mitchell said. "This began last August."
Mitchell explained that she understands the work is necessary. She just wants a warning before she's greeted by a construction zone outside of her quaint boutique.
"Just communication. We want this work to happen, we just want a timeline."