Water and Sewer Work Continues on North Street, North Square & Sheafe Street

11 Replies to “Water and Sewer Work Continues on North Street, North Square & Sheafe Street”

1. Got “externalities”? The rats have begun participating in the Holiday Stroll. Can I bill pest-control charges incurred since this work has begun to the City of Boston, or to the Contractor?

   1. You have nerve complainig about the city upgrading century old utilities or any thing for that matter. You and your Mickey Mouse band did far more to affect quality of life than a few rats! I will pay for your rodent control bill if you pay for the hotel I have to book when you and your rag tag cover band decide your going to make North Square the House of Blues! I can handle handle the city doing work that should have been done years ago. I can’t handle when they give you a permit to disrupt quality of life for residents. Also what happened in Chinatown last week could easily happen here. If you watched the news last week you would have learned that our utilities, especially our sewer lines are decades old! People up here bitch and moan about the wrong issues. The city is investing in ou infrastructure . If a sewer line bursts the first you’ll do,is say the city doesn’t invest in our neighborhood. Call 311 and file a complaint and get your rocking roll wanna be permit while your at it!

      1. What happened in Chinatown?

         1. There was a major water main break that flooded out many businesses and shut down several busy Chinatown streets for the better part of a week.

            While the contractor is generally doing a good job of minimizing the disruptive impact of living in the midst of a construction zone by not starting before 8am and usually wrapping up by 4pm with no weekends, any NE residents on the above schedule should be prepared for the following:
            – noise that drowns out your phone, TV, conversations, even with the windows closed, all day long
            – construction dust and debris blowing up and down your street, whether it’s a windy day or not
            – a complete loss of visitor/resident parking for blocks in every direction, not just from construction equiptment and work sites, but from many opportunistic visitors to the NE with commercial plates
            – street closures with no advance notification
            – the previously mentioned parade of rats, now during the day instead of just at night
            December is the start of the third month of this painstakingly slow process that has yet to move off of my block, and isn’t scheduled to be completed until the summertime…be prepared for a similar experience!

      2. Minnie, Micky, Goofy, Pluto, sounds like we need practice!

2. There are more rats in the North End than in the Federal Witness Protection Program.

3. Hi Matt,

   For what it’s worth, I know there is a fine line you need to tread as a moderator for the North End Waterfront.

   At times you must allow conversations to float in the air, like a hail Mary pass, that you know are volatile, but place your trust at times in human nature, at times in others, and finally always in yourself that the posts won’t get out of hand. All this while maintaining a steady, patient and un-censored point of view at the helm of this selfless endeavor.

   For the few times that you have placed your trust in me, I thank you. For the effortless grace and gentleness with which you carry your job, we all thank you. You make it look easy and we know that it is not.

   You deserve more thanks than all of us in the neighborhood could possibly muster.

   Happy Holidays, (please post this where others may see it)

   sandro

   Sandro A. Carella, AIA

   1. hear, hear

4. Despite the current inconvenience, having this work done before the sewer and water systems fail is better than waiting until after the systems fail where the response is an emergency fix. As far as rat abatement, why can’t residents actually go something rather than just complain.

   1. Dear t.Mobile,
      I agree, all NE residents should utilize the Mayor’s Phone Hotline or 311 Phone App to report any and all rodent sightings to help control the problem. This is a serious public health issue as rats spread a variety of diseases. However, it would also be helpfull if the contractors who rip up our streets on a regular basis could do more in advance of and during their projects to reign in the swarms of rats they are uprooting.

5. I’ve posted to Boston 311 the following: (I must applaud his honor’s office for the 311 venue- they have always been lightning fast to respond to missed trash pickups and the like)

   Sometime between when contractors notice of construction in the Sun Court St. / Moon Street/ North Square and now that the actual construction is going on, I have noticed a general increase in the appearance of rats in North Square and Moon Street, my entryway (photo) was filled with sand mysteriously (I have no sand and have no idea how this might have happened) and rats have been observed trying to get into this entry, though I have not been quick enough to photograph and actual one as they are fast, they have also been spotted underneath cars parked on Moon Street, on North Square by the chains. I have since engaged an exterminator at $150 per visit to place a trap in this entryway.

   Is it possible for contractors excavating to place traps in and around construction area in the vicinity of Moon Street/Sun Court/North Square in the hopes of mitigating the travel of these pests? They are now being observed in broad daylight. Those of us who have business at street level are being forced to keep our doors closed, though in the cold weather this is not an extraordinary inconvenience. I am a teacher, contractor and architect as well and know that it is not unusual for building authorities to require rodent control at construction sites, particularly when excavation is involved. Respectfully Yours, Sandro Carella

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