The article states "a State Supreme Court judge ruled on Dec. 10 that the Board of Managers of the Biltmore Towers Condominium Association acted outside of their authority when they entered into a lease agreement with MetroPCS to install cell antennas on the roof of the building, at 30 Lake St."
A couple of condo owners there formed a group, "Safe Cell", to oppose their own board.
It seems to me that the board members acted in good faith to generate revenue for the condo. That is a good thing. They did something a little different that required a bit of creativity. That's another good thing.
This appears to be a Pyrrhic victory, one that will cause good board members to leave the board and result in too much caution and lack of imagination. Condo/coop organizations have enough trouble getting energetic owners to become members of their boards. The Biltmore board president "did not return a call seeking comment". Who could blame that person? This type of action undermines progressive policy. Boards should pursue anything that generates revenue or cuts costs for owners.
I am neither a lawyer, nor a scientist. I do not know whether the decision has merit, nor whether it can survive appeal. I do not know whether the cell equipment is a safety hazard.
The condo renegades also have a "case in federal court against the city's Planning Board ... to prevent cell antennas from being installed near" a couple of public schools. Oh, boy. They are playing the kid card: the last refuge of the scoundrel to paraphrase Samuel Johnson. And there are a lot better things on which to attack the Planning Board.
The final words in the article are "RF emissions". RF. That means radio frequency. Don't they have to do with broadcast radio transmission, which has been pretty big since the 1920s? And television broadcasting, pretty big since at least the 1950s? How come the insurgents have not been concerned about that all along? How about taking away broadcast television from people who do not have cable or phone company TV service? Do you suppose that kind of RF threatens the kiddies?
And what about the AT&T microwave tower atop its building at 400 Hamilton Avenue since 1954? It has line of sight to AT&T facilities in Manhattan? Shouln't that concern the "Safe Cell" duo?
Finally, in another article in that same issue of WP Times, right next to the cell article, about the fire at 20 North Broadway:
Many families learned about the blaze through phone calls left with parents warning that school buses could be delayed.
It does not specify whether some of those calls were made to or from cell phones. Maybe the condo renegades should have considered the value of communication before taking the actions they did.
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