Dish Wireless Antennas Approved in WP Despite Neighbors Outcry
News Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
The White Plains Planning Board last week approved an application from Dish Wireless to install three antennas on the roof of the Residence Inn by Marriott at 5 Barker Ave.
The board voted 5-1 Aug. 15 following several months of public hearings, where residents of neighboring Westage Towers on 25 Rockledge Ave. urged the board not to grant a special permit for the public utility antenna facility.
Angela Poccia, an attorney for Dish Wireless, maintained the antennas would “fill a significant gap of coverage in the area,” adding the company “has no intentions” to install any additional antennas in the future.
However, several speakers took Dish Wireless to task for not exploring other potential sites. Poccia said Dish Wireless approached building owners at 50 Main St. and 70 Ferris Ave., but the owners had no interest of entering into a lease.
“There are numerous other better sites that could have been chosen,” insisted Jeffrey Klein, a member of the Board of Managers of Westage Towers, who contended the radiation from the antennas would present a health risk to condominium owners. “If denied, this applicant will find a way to do it better and do it right.”
Stephanie Tocci, also a Westage Towers resident who noted she had Stage 2 cancer, argued potential radiation exposure would hurt lower income areas in the city to benefit higher income areas.
She also contended, “There has been inadequate proof from a technical and scientific perspective to show that this will, in fact, be a safe installment. We are not here to be in fear of lawsuits.”
Planning Board member Lynn Oliva said a consultant and the city’s Department of Public Works concluded Dish Network met all the required guidelines for approval.
Planning Board Chairman John Ioris explained the board’s hands were somewhat tied since if the board took no action the application would automatically be approved, and if the application was denied, the city would likely be facing a lawsuit for “blatantly disregarding” federal law.
“We are faced with a set of guidelines that we must comply with. Nobody has given us a viable reason that this shouldn’t be done,” he said. “I’m not afraid of a lawsuit. This is just the reality of what we’re facing. It’s not like we didn’t hear you. It’s not like we’re not sympathetic to your situation. We don’t operate in a vacuum. I hope this provides no interruptions to your lives at all. The board did what it had to do.”
Planning Board member Lauren Morris cast the lone dissenting vote.
“I’m very aware of the reports and the FCC guidelines, but I can’t ignore the concerns of residents,” Morris said. “The last few years have shown us facts are not always facts and life and good health is not always certain.”
Rick has more than 40 years’ experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, running the gamut from politics and crime to sports and human interest. He has been an editor at Examiner Media since 2012. Read more from Rick’s editor-author bio here. Read Rick’s work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/pezzullo_rick-writer/
