Fallsburg, NY – A cell-phone dead zone along Route 52 between Liberty and Fallsburg will be eliminated, thanks to a decision by the Fallsburg Planning Board to approve a new cell tower.
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Board members voted unanimously to allow the 120-foot tower despite hearing some concerns from the public about possible health risks and a flashing beacon atop the structure.
"We don't need that additional light," Loch Sheldrake resident Ken Walter said. "We have to really determine if this is what we want in a rural area."
Recognizing Walter's objection to new lights, the board asked representatives for Cellco Partnership, the Verizon Wireless affiliate directing this project, that the strobe be activated only when conditions make it difficult to see the tower.
Cellco's attorney, Brian Matula, also said that concerns about radiation exposure are unwarranted, at ground level the electromagnetic exposure "would be substantially below 1% of the (FCC's) exposure limits."
The self-supporting tower will stand on town-owned land on Leroy Road, an access road to Sullivan County Community College. [Record]
As a hatzoloh member, I can say that the lack of cell service has been a problem for many years throughout the Catskills, both for people trying to call Hatzoloh, and for the members needing to make calls as well.
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>concerns from the public about possible health risks and a flashing beacon atop the structure.
Concerns about a flashing? Tough crap. The beacon is an FAA requirement (not FCC). There are no waivers.