Plan for 5G Towers in Lower Manhattan Stirs Opposition
A plan by the City’s Office of Technology and Information (OTI) to install seven Link5G poles, each more than 30 feet tall, on publicly owned sidewalks in the Financial District and Tribeca is sparking pushback from community leaders.
The poles, which contain antennas and transmitters that will enable high-speed wireless connectivity, are part of the City’s controversial LinkNYC program, which began installing outdoor nine-foot-tall internet kiosks in Manhattan in 2015, mostly in locations formerly occupied by pay telephones. Two years ago, this rollout was reprised with the debut of 5G poles, which are designed to offer improved cellular service, free Wi-Fi, and enhanced options for in-home broadband internet access to residents whose homes are located near the towers.
But the program has been marked by setbacks and criticism. CityBridge (the private-sector partner that provides the structures and the signals) failed to make $70 million in payments owed to the City in 2021. In January 2023, Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine wrote to OTI, saying, “many residents have reported serious concerns about the site selection, outreach, and community engagement process. Residents have reported not adequately being informed about the placement of 5G towers in their neighborhoods, and many have questioned specific site selections and the fundamental need for the new towers taking up vital public space.” He added, “the design of the 5G towers and infrastructure have been a source of frustration for many residents. These structures create considerable bulk on sidewalks and can negatively impact the visual appeal or even historic character of our neighborhoods.”
Three months later, Congressman Jerry Nadler wrote to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which has jurisdiction over the electromagnetic spectrum that 5G utilizes, urging that agency to “ensure that the project is following federal regulations, including regulations pertaining to historic preservation. I am concerned that the locations proposed for many of the towers are within Historic Districts listed on the National Register of Historic Places that are located within New York City.”
A week later, the FCC issued a finding that “the deployment of the 32-foot tall Link5G tower kiosk facilities are subject to the Commission’s environmental and historic preservation review and approval requirements.” This created a legal obligation on the part of LinkNYC to demonstrate that its proposed 5G towers (along with those already constructed) compiled with local regulations about historic preservation and land use.
Last year, City Council member Christopher Marte stated his opposition to the proliferation of 5G towers in Lower Manhattan. “When the City wants to put anything on a public street, there is a process that allows the local Community Board to have a say. But that process isn’t happening with 5G towers,” he said. He cited, among the complaints raised by residents, that the new towers can impede sidewalk access for the disabled, hamper pedestrian flows and harm retail businesses, and hinder trash collection. In other cases, residents of second- and third-floor apartments have lamented that their views were blocked by the new towers.
Manhattan Community Boards 2, 5, 8, 9, 10, and 11 passed resolutions criticizing the site-selection process and calling for a halt to the rollout of 5G towers until a new program of community consultation was implemented.
Community Board 1 will take up this question tonight, when its Environmental Protection Committee will hear a presentation from OTI and LinkNYC and their plans to install 5G towers on sidewalks in front of 95 Wall Street, 88 Pine Street, 75 South Street, 110 William Street, Eight Spruce Street, 66 Harrison Street, and 100 North Moore Street.
After the presentation and a discussion among CB1 members (as well as the public), the committee plans to draft a resolution articulating the Board’s position on 5G towers in Lower Manhattan. Alice Blank, chair of the committee, said, “the installation of 5G towers raises questions of necessity, utility, and impact. In areas with no expressed need, we see poles erected but unused, marring historic landscapes and potentially introducing environmental risks — all for a service that may be more about profit than progress. This is another egregious takeover of our public space.”