MetroPCS having trouble with towers in New York?

MetroPCS plans to roll out service in the New York Metro area. This has been in the works for quite some time now. That doesn’t mean that they aren’t facing obstacles. As noted in the New York Times this weekend, they’re having trouble with at least one tower. The company signed a lease to place antenna at Biltmore Towers in White Plains, a suburb north of the city. Apparently, Verizon Wireless wanted to place a tower there as well. Now neither will. The Biltmore residents have spoken, and the result is that no cell tower will be erected on their premises.

But some Biltmore residents resisted, saying the board had violated its own bylaws in granting the lease. And eventually they won. Verizon walked away from its deal in September, three months before Justice Alan D. Scheinkman of State Supreme Court voided the MetroPCS lease.

Metro had agreed to pay $27,600 per year to the Biltmore, but that’s all for naught now. I’m sure Metro will find other places for their antennae, but to see something like this happen is a bit disheartening. I’m willing to bet that the majority of Biltmore residents own and use cell phones. How would they like it if they never got reception because other residents precluded the erection of towers? They might not be pretty, but they’re essential for our current communication infrastructure. ]]>