“…once they’re installed we can’t go back, so we need to make sure…that there’s not going to be any harm to any of our community members, we owe them that.”
Antonella Di Saverio, Chair of the Environment & Sanitation Committee, QCB1
The Environment/Sanitation and Transportation Committees of Queens Community Board 1 held a joint meeting on January 25, 2023 to review a proposal for six Link5G poles in their district. The colossal 32′ tall 5G and public WiFi poles have been gaining in controversy across the city. After the presentation by New York’s Office of Technology and Innovation (OTI) and industry consortium CityBridge, three experts were given more time than usual to speak in opposition. There was also explosive testimony from Police Officer and 9/11 Rescue Worker George Sinopidis, who was injured after wireless infrastructure was placed outside of his home in Astoria, Queens.
“If anyone tells you that low-level wireless radiation is harmless they are either woefully misinformed or putting it politely they are not being truthful.”
Professor Kent Chamberlin, PhD, former New Hampshire Commissioner on Health Impacts of 5G
While CityBridge and OTI gave assurances that the FCC handles all health and safety monitoring, Ms. Scarato and Professor Chamberlin both explained the weakness of the FCC’s oversight, including the decision not to update its 25 year old guidelines, which the 9th Circuit District Court had ruled ‘arbitrary and capricious’ in 2021. The FCC still has not returned to the court with a reasoned explanation, which shows just how shaky a foundation our future wireless utopias are being built upon.
It was like all our freedoms were taken away with these towers…like nothing I’ve ever seen before. It just didn’t make any sense.
George Sinopidis, New York City Transit Police Officer
Mr. Sinopidis’ testimony was a powerful revelation of how a person’s life can be devastated by the arbitrary placement of an antenna across from one’s property, and a reminder of how health is still our greatest asset.
Ms. Wilkens presented a thorough argument on why the city’s hands are not tied, as is so often claimed, and underscored the dismantling of any semblance of environmental review in New York City.
A return to completing the project of fiber to the premises that Verizon had left partially done was recommended by all three experts who had come to speak in opposition. Its phenomenally lower energy footprint was also noted.
Ms. Scarato re-iterated how important it was for the city to make public the information on what kind of antennas, power levels, and modulations will be in use, as there is no way to assess their safety without this data.
The Committees voted for a disapproval of the poles until further information can be obtained.
There was not enough time for CityBridge or OTI to answer all of the questions that were raised, but they will be back at the Full Board meeting on February 21 where the issue will be visited again, and where the public will have a chance to weigh in.
New Yorkers 4 Wired Tech 