A controversial cellular phone tower will be allowed to take rise on a residential block in Canarsie, a city panel ruled last week.
On June 3, the Board of Standards and Appeals granted a special permit to Omnipoint Communications for the construction of a 52-foot tower atop a two-story building at 1595 Canarsie Road.
The tower was initially to be disguised as an illuminated flagpole, but Omnipoint amended its proposal when local residents balked at the idea of the brightly-lit structure.
But opponents remain dissatisfied. Their contention is that the tower—whether it is cloaked in red, white, or blue or not—is wholly inappropriate for an area where one-story, single-family homes predominate.
“Absolutely we object,” said Neal Duncan, the president of the United Canarsie South Civic Association. “It is unprecedented that this will be situated in a residential neighborhood.”
Duncan said his neighbors who use T-Mobile—Omnipoint was bought in 2000 by VoiceStream Wireless, later named T-Mobile USA—cell phone service never complain about dropped calls.
“We don’t think this is necessary. We don’t think we need the coverage,” he said.
Moreover, he continued, there remains a safety risk, particularly if the tower somehow falls from its perch. “That’s a 50-foot radius,” he said. “It is a great error.”
T-Mobile has said that the proposed facility will help to improve coverage and ensure that all residents and families in Canarsie have reliable coverage “when they need it most.”
Because the Canarsie Road property sits in an area zoned for residential use, the special permit was needed before the structure could be constructed.
Opponents, led by State Senator John Sampson, plan to appeal the BSA’s ruling, according to Mary Anne Sallustro, president of the South Canarsie Civic Association.
She said the tower would be antithetical to the aesthetics of this low-rise, historic neighborhood.
“If this can happen here, it can happen anywhere,” she said. “This is unbelievable.”
Sallustro, who lives a block from the site, also fears adverse health effects, “because of whatever rays are emitted.”
In December, Omnipoint attorney Robert Gaudioso told Community Board 18—which ultimately rejected the proposal—that all potential sites in the immediate vicinity are located too close to existing towers.
Placing a tower at a different locale would fail to provide adequate coverage, which the company is seeking to expand.
The lawyer cited the American Cancer Society, whose position is that radio waves emitted by cell towers are unlikely to cause cancer.
