Stop the
Shawangunk Ridge
Cell Tower
STAND UP FOR THE GUNKS
✦
STAND UP FOR THE GUNKS ✦
MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD
For generations, people have protected our beloved Shawangunks from destruction! Now it is our turn. We must stop our world-class scenic viewshed and environment from being ruined for Verizon’s corporate profits!
Join us in stopping a massive 14 story cell tower in Accord/Kerhonkson that will damage the views that we all love and power our tourist economy as well as harm our neighbors’ public health, property values, plants and wildlife. It is located 147 feet away from affordable apartments that currently house multiple families with children. The owner of the land is an absentee landlord who does not live here and has not attended one meeting to advocate for the project.
Hundreds of residents have voiced opposition yet the Town of Rochester Planning Board is wrongly moving forward by not requiring Verizon to conduct a full environmental and socio-economic impact assessment under New York’s State Environmental Quality Review Act. We only have until the June 8th Planning Board meeting to make public comments and have our voices heard. Please join us!
What is happening?
Right now the Town of Rochester Planning Board is moving forward with approving a massive Verizon cell tower on Granite Road in Accord/Kerhonkson. Verizon has gained access to lease property across from the Hudson Valley Resort and is proposing to build a 14 story cell tower 147 feet away from an affordable apartment complex that houses multiple families and children. It will be visible from Route 209 and the scenic overlooks on Route 44/55 and from the Minnewaska State Park visitors center. Verizon is threatening to sue the Town of Rochester if they don’t approve it and it appears that the Town of Rochester Planning Board fears that they will lose in court and is caving to this corporate giant.
Currently the Town of Rochester, with the hamlets Accord and Kerhonkson, has 3 cell towers - more than other similar sized towns - Verizon wants to build a 4th with the closest one only 2 miles away. Verizon is claiming they need to increase coverage and capacity but in that area they already have full coverage and have not proven otherwise. In fact, Verizon’s own reports to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission state that the area the cell tower will cover has no cell phone coverage gaps. It is suspected that the real reason that Verizon wants to build out another cell tower in that location is to build out the wireless capacity for their streaming service - Voice Link - to compete with Spectrum, which is a wired service. They are seemingly misrepresenting this to the Board. Unfortunately, the Board is moving forward despite Verizon having given insufficient evidence that this tower will actually increase cell coverage and ignoring independent experts who have been paid for by local residents who dispute Verizon’s claims.
Recently, the Town of Rochester Planning Board voted to NOT conduct an environmental and community impact study called an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) as part of the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) - thereby paving the way for its approval. The original proposal from Verizon was for a 145 foot tower but as part of its determination to not do an EIS, the Planning Board is attempting to “mitigate” or compromise that damage to our viewshed by lowering the tower to 125 feet. This is unacceptable for two reasons: 1) it barely makes a difference in the viewshed and would still be very visible and 2) because of a federal law called the Spectrum Act, once the tower is built Verizon will automatically be able to increase the height of the tower 20 feet and the Planning Board will not be able to stop that - thus the tower will be raised at some point to 145 feet anyway.
We have until June 8 to make our voices heard with public comments to demand that they protect our community and our environment and conduct this important study! It is critical that residents and visitors get involved now because once the tower is built it will be an eyesore and a public health issue for the rest of our lives! If Verizon can get away with building this tower in our most pristine viewshed - then they will not stop here!
Can we stop this?
YES, it can be stopped. Cell phone towers have been stopped across New York State, including Yorktown Heights in Westchester County, and here in Ulster County in Palentown, Stone Ridge and Woodstock. In Tarrytown in Westchester County a 140 foot tower was removed after being built 30 feet away from an affordable housing children’s playground with the support of NY State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart Cousins and Assemblyman Tom Abinanti and Mayor Drew Fixell. These are just some of the many examples.
The Town of Rochester Planning Board believes that their “hands are tied” and after being threatened by the Verizon lawyer many times in public meetings. They have convinced themselves that they will lose in court if Verizon sues them but that is simply not the case. In all of these examples Verizon or the cell phone corporation did not sue the municipality after the cell towers were denied.
Learn more
Take Action
NOW
This cell tower is a massive industrial piece of infrastructure that will loom over our community and be visible in the distance everywhere we look for the rest of our lives if it’s approved. We CANNOT allow this to happen. We still have time to act!
Please join us in signing our petition to the Planning Board To Vote YES on a Positive SEQRA Declaration that will require experts to do a full environmental and socio-economic impact study - known as an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) - that the Planning Board must take into consideration before they make a final decision to reject or approve this cell tower.
NEW!