By: Benyamin Davidsons
The East Hamptons beach town has been struggling for years with spotty cell phone service. But a new plan to fix the problem has problems of its own.
The notorious reception has been more than an inconvenience to cell-phone users, but also impedes emergency-services responders. The area faces a “pressing need” for better emergency communications and cell service, said the local government.
As reported by the NY Post, the town has plans to fix the problem by building a 185-foot tower on a 6.9-acre plot it owns in Springs, a small hamlet. The new tower would house police and fire department equipment, and have space that could be leased to private cell-service carriers. But residents oppose the new tower and have hired a lawyer to halt the plans.
The wooded property is informally used for biking, dog-walking, sledding, and other outdoor activities. “This is the only unregulated piece of land where kids are allowed to do that stuff,” said one resident of more than 30 years, Aleaze Schaap-Hodgens. “Just let the kids have a place to play where people aren’t bugging them. And it’s safe, they won’t be run over by someone speeding.”
The town has a previously constructed 150-ft. tower at the Springs Fire Department. That can’t be used, however, because it’s “not adequate” to fit both police and fire technology, and because a court order declared it was illegally built. Well-heeled residents had filed a lawsuit against that tower, worried that ice and debris could fall from the tower onto nearby houses. The town zoning board revoked the building permit for the tower, and a judge again upheld that decision, as per the town.
The planned tower is on a larger plot of land, which would make the “fall zone” far from nearby houses, the town said. Neighbors of the planned tower, however, still have concerns. “They are attempting to improve cell service for all, at the expense, from our perspective, of our neighborhood,” said Jacki Esposito, a longtime resident. She alleges that this site was chosen because of its largely working-class and Latino demographic. “There are powerful voices in that neighborhood, and maybe not here,” she said, referring to the area near the firehouse. Residents have also complained the plan was rushed, and would be an eyesore. They suggest the town uses the illegally-built fire department tower temporarily.
While nobody wants the tower in their neighborhood, “everybody demands communications where they live,” said town supervisor Peter Van Scoyoc at a July meeting.
