The United States Gypsum Company will idle production of wallboard at its Medford Street site next month, putting an undetermined number of employees out of work as a result.
According to a Jan. 25 document obtained by the Patriot-Bridge, the Chicago-based manufacturer and distributor of construction materials informed workers that their positions might be eliminated after production of wallboard materials ceases at the Charlestown facility on March 31. Terminated employees will be offered “a severance package in exchange for a fully executed general release and agreement” and have the opportunity to interview for positions at the company’s other sites, the document stated. U.S. Gypsum has occupied the Medford Street facility for approximately 80 years, said Bob Williams, the company’s director of communications.
Williams attributes the cessation to a major downturn in the housing industry that has taken place in recent months.
“Our business has been affected by this, and demand for our products has declined,” he said. “This is a part of a broader economic issue we’re responding to.”
While Williams didn’t specify how many employees would lose their jobs because of the company’s decision, he said it would impact approximately 60 of the 85 employees currently working at the site.
Meanwhile, Tom Cunha, chairman of the Charlestown Neighborhood Council, expressed concern for the U.S. Gypsum workers who will soon find themselves out of work.
“I feel badly for the company’s loss and the Charlestown residents who will lose their jobs,” Cunha said. “I’m hoping that U.S. Gypsum will step up with training or funds to help their employees.”

CREDIT: Courtesy of Regan Communications Group.

CAPTION: An aerial view of HarborView in the Navy Yard.

The public auction of the troubled HarborView development in the Navy Yard has been delayed for a third time until Tuesday, March 11, said an employee of Holbrook-based Paul E. Sapperstein Co. Auctioneers and Appraisers.
The on-site auction of the 325,000 square foot, 224-unit residential complex located at 250 First St. was originally scheduled for Nov. 8, 2007, before being postponed until last Friday.
According to a document released by the auctioneer, the sale comes after the mortgagor, Navy Yard Four Associates LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, allegedly breached its agreement with the mortgagee, Eurohypo AG, an international bank that specializes in real estate and public finance.
In November, Jeff Mann of Paul E. Sapperstein Co. said the auction attorneys for Eurohypo AG requested that original auction date for harborView be postponed. As for the cause of the latest delay, Mann was unavailable for comment at press time.
While the auctioneer doesn’t specify an estimated value for the development that came at a cost of $100 million, its terms of sale state: “A deposit of [$1 million] by certified or bank cashier’s check only will be required at the time and place of sale, which deposit shall be increased to an amount equal to 10 percent of the bid price within 10 days of the sale date and balance due within 30 days of sale date.”
In August, Turner Construction Company filed a lawsuit in Suffolk Superior Court against the Trammel Crowe Company alleging that the Dallas developer misled the construction company into finishing the complex, even though it lacked sufficient funding to finish the project. The lawsuit claims that Trammell Crowe defaulted on loan payments to Eurohypo AG and Prudential Insurance Company of America.
Also in August, Trammel Crowe announced that HarborView, which was originally developed as a condominium complex, would be “repositioned for sale as an upscale, mixed-use rental community,” partly in response to slow unit sales.

Members of the Charlestown Boys & Girls Club are seen performing a dance routine at the ribbon-cutting ceremony at CitiBank in City Square last Thursday.

Two at-large Charlestown Neighborhood Council representatives recently stepped down from their seats.
Melissa Doherty, who has served on the council for the last five years, said her top priority is looking for employment after losing her job of nearly 10 years at City Square technology services firm Keane, Inc. in October due to company-wide layoffs. Doherty recently passed the Massachusetts Bar and is looking for work in the legal profession.
“I don’t know how much time I can put into [the CNC] now,” Doherty said, adding that she would like to return to the council at a future date when her schedule permits it.
Shawn Jenkins, a Neighborhood Council representative since 2004, also cited work obligations as the reason for his resignation after taking assuming the role of assistant deputy superintendent for administration and finance of the Worcester County Sheriff’s office.
“The job itself is a bear, and now, I have a 50 minute commute each way,” Jenkins said. “It just wasn’t feasible for me to be effective [as a CNC representative].”
Jenkins said that he also consider returning to the council in the future.
CNC Chairman Tom Cunha said both Doherty and Jenkins will be “sorely missed” on the council.
“The way they viewed the issues was enlightening to the other members of the Neighborhood Council and myself,” Cunha said. “We wish them both the best and hope that they can come back somewhere down the line.”
Doherty and Jenkins’ departures mark the second and third CNC seats that have been vacated in recent months; Brian Wadman, who joined the council in March of 2007, stepped down as the Precinct 6 representative in November. His position has yet to be filled.

As the new cluster administrator of the Charlestown Community Centers, Beth Burton hopes to give back to the neighborhood she has called home all her life.
“I want to take my knowledge and skill base and put it to use in the community I live in,” she said.
Burton, who worked as a youth supervisor for the Community Centers as a teen, comes to her new position from the Boston Center for Youth and Families central office. As BCYF’s director of operations, she oversaw the budget, finance, payroll, personnel, labor, facilities and technology departments at the agency’s Roxbury Crossing site.
“Here I am responsible for some of the same fundamental functions but for five locations,” Burton said in regard to the Community Centers’ Medford Street facility, the Clougherty Pool, the Golden Age Center, the Stillman tennis bubble and at the Harvard-Kent School.
Burton said the five sites fulfill the citywide mission of the Community Centers to provide services for residents ages 0 to 90. “The strength of the Community Centers is that it has the opportunity to serve the entire constituency of Charlestown,” she said.
Among the programs that the Community Centers offers are Department of Education-certified Basic Adult Education, English as a Second Language and GED classes, which operate at the Medford Street facility, at 76 Monument St. and the Mishawum Park Apartments Community Center.
“Adult education is one of the best kept secrets in Charlestown, and it shouldn’t be,” Burton said. “We should be shouting about it.”
The Community Center site at the Harvard-Kent School is also home to the Tint Tots Preschool and an after-school program for elementary school children, and various community meetings. (Tiny Tots, which has space for 40 children, will hold an open house next month).
In addition, Charlestown has been chosen as a pilot site for Smart from the Start, which serves ages 0to 5. The program is currently based out of the Community Center’s Medford Street facility.
The Community Centers is also stepping up its youth programming and, in collaboration with other local organizations, will offer a peewee basketball tournament for sixth through eighth graders and roller hockey and floor hockey tournaments for students ages 6-14 during February vacation week.
“This building should never be empty, and if it is, it means that there’s a void we’re missing in programming,” Burton said, adding that her staff has been extremely supportive of her in her new position.
Burton emphasized that she wants the Community Centers to be the place where people in the community turn when they are in need of city services.
“I want people to see this as a resource and a place to come into, as well as somewhere where they can also find out about city services,” she said.
And as a 20-year employee of Filene’s Basement, Burton hopes to bring her customer service experience to her role as cluster administrator.
“Customer service is huge with me, and the customers are the residents of the city,” she said. “It’s not just a job, it is a commitment as a public servant.”
For more information on the Charlestown Community Centers, call Beth Burton at 617-635-5170.

Registered Democrats in Charlestown (Boston Ward 2) will be holding a caucus in Room E175 at Bunker Hill Community College, 250 New Rutherford Ave., on Saturday, Feb. 9, at 10 a.m. to elect 12 delegates and two alternates to the Massachusetts Democratic Convention. Delegates will be divided equally between men and women.
The convention will be held on Saturday, June 7, at the Tsongas Arena in Lowell. At that time, Democrats from across the state will gather to endorse candidates for the office of U.S. Senator. The names of those candidates who receive 15 percent of the state convention vote will be place on the Sept. 16 Democratic Primary ballot.
The caucus is open to all registered Democrats in Charlestown (Boston Ward 2). Candidates for delegate and alternate must consent to nomination in writing and must be present at the caucus. All ballots will be written and secret. Those not elected as delegate and/or alternate who meet the qualifications, may apply to be add-on delegates in the following categories: youth, minority and disabled.
Discrimination on the basis of race, sex, age, color, creed, national origin, religion, ethnic identity, sexual orientation or economic status in the conduct of the caucus is strictly prohibited. Challenges to the delegate selection process can be filed with the Massachusetts Democratic Party, 56 Roland Street, Suite 203, Boston, MA 02129 no later than 10 days after the caucus date.
The Charlestown (Boston Ward 2) caucus is being called to organize by MA Democratic Party Chairman John Walsh and will be chaired by Massachusetts Democratic State Committee Member Shawn Hartman. For caucus information, call Hartman at 617- 242-7585.
Immediately after the caucus, a meeting will be called to re-organize the Ward Committee and elect electors to the Senate Conference that will be held on Feb. 23 to elect additional Democratic State Committee members.