BOSTON – Stores in Boston’s Charlestown 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.
Advertisement
The front of On Again Consignment in Charlestown can be difficult to find and even harder to get into.
CBS Boston
“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.
Advertisement
“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.
“TheBoston 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.”
Advertisement
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.”
Tiffany Chan
Advertisement
Tiffany Chan is a general assignment reporter for WBZ-TV.
“No Kings” rallies are scheduled in Boston and across Massachusetts on Saturday and are expected to draw large crowds, organizers said.
Organized by the ACLU of Massachusetts, Indivisible Mass Coalition, and Mass 50501, the event is a mass mobilization in protest of the Trump administration.
The No Kings theme was created by the 50501 Movement, a national movement made up of Americans who stand for democracy and against what they call the authoritarian actions of the Trump administration. The name 50501 stands for 50 states, 50 protests, one movement.
“The Trump administration is trying to shred the Constitution; the No Kings movement is an unequivocal statement that we, the people, will not let that happen. This will be the third global No Kings Day, and it’s not just about protesting what’s wrong—it’s about building something better. We intend to show our power, build our power, and power a democracy that advances freedom, equality, justice, and dignity for all,” organizers wrote.
Advertisement
The rally, one of thousands scheduled across the country this weekend, is planned for the Boston Common from 2 to 4 p.m. More than 100,000 people are expected to attend Boston’s rally. Other events are scheduled in Pittsfield, Northampton, Lancaster, Worcester, Framingham, Methuen, Lexington, and towns in southeastern Massachusetts and the Cape. For a map of No Kings events near you, click here.
Speakers include elected officials Attorney General Andrea Campbell, Gov. Maura Healey, Sen. Ed Markey and Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, and civic leaders Hessann Farooqi Marcelo Gomes Da Silva, Darlene Lombos, president of the Greater Boston Labor Council, Carol Rose, executive director of ACLU of Massachusetts, Jessica Tang, president of the American Federation of Teachers of Massachusetts, and others. It will be moderated by Rahsaan Hall, president and CEO of Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts.
There will also be performances by the Dropkick Murphys, Boston Area Brigade of Activist Musicians, BVOCAL Chorus, and Jimmy Tingle.
A previous No Kings rally in October drew massive crowds estimated in the tens of thousands.
NBC10 Boston
NBC10 Boston
An aerial view of the crowd at Boston’s “No Kings” rally on the Common on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025.
ALLSTON, MASS. (WHDH) – Boston police are searching for a gunman who opened fire in Allston Thursday and left one person hurt.
Police responded to a radio call for a person shot in the area of Brighton Avenue at approximately 6:46 p.m. When officers arrived, they said they found a male “juvenile” suffering from a gunshot wound. The victim’s age has not been released.
Boston police said the shooter fled the scene and remains at large. No arrests have been made.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Boston police.
Advertisement
This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details.
(Copyright (c) 2026 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
Join our Newsletter for the latest news right to your inbox
