Tonight at 8pm: Join us for community zoom meeting to stop the Shawangunk Ridge Cell Tower!

Hi all,

Please join us tonight Sunday April 26th at 8pm for an online zoom community meeting to stop the massive 14 story tall Verizon cell tower on Granite Road in Accord/Kerhonkson. We have these community zoom meetings every Sunday from now through June using the same zoom link. 

Here's the zoom link to join at 8pm on Sundays: tinyurl.com/StopCellTowerZoom

Recently, the Town of Rochester Planning Board voted to NOT conduct an environmental impact assessment thereby paving the way for its approval. We have until June 8th to make public comments to change their minds. It's time to unite and organize to stop this cell tower that will damage the viewshed that we all love as well as harm our neighbors’ public health, property values, plants and wildlife.

Please join us to learn about this issue from leading experts and community organizers who have been working to stop this cell tower for over a year. We will explain the different ways the process can play out over this next month, how we can still stop the cell tower and how you can get involved. 

For generations people have organized to protect our beloved Shawangunks! Now it is our turn!

Thanks,

Julia

Background info 

Verizon has gained access to property across from the Granit Hotel that is proposing to build a massive 14 story cell tower 150 feet away from an affordable apartment complex and would be visible from Route 209, the scenic overlooks on Route 44/55 and Minnewaska State Park. Verizon is threatening to sue the Town of Rochester if they don’t approve it despite having given no evidence that it is actually needed.

Right now the Town of Rochester, with the hamlets Accord and Kerhonkson, has 3 cell towers - more than other similar sized towns. Verizon wants to build a 4th. Federal law states that in order to build a cell tower the company needs to demonstrate that there is a need in that area yet Verizon has not presented this to the Planning Board.

Local residents have been demanding that the Planning Board look critically into this issue of need as well as numerous other issues, including impacts to our world renowned view shed, local property values, impacts of documented cell tower damage to wildlife, plants and nature, and dangers to public health. Hundreds of residents have signed petitions and spoken at public hearings and sent in letters, yet in light of all of this the Planning Board is currently moving forward and voted recently that Verizon does not have to do a full environmental and community impact study under the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA). The Board is preparing to approve this cell tower without having an expert assessment of the impacts under SEQRA. 

This cell tower is a massive industrial piece of infrastructure that will loom over our community and be visible in the distance everywhere we look for the rest of our lives if it’s approved. It will also increase our neighbors' risks of cancer and hurt our property values. We can NOT allow this to happen. We still have time to act! 

Please attend the community zoom meeting this Sunday April 19 at 8pm to find out what you can do to help including submitting comments, attending local meetings, going door to door collecting signatures and helping with fundraisers to pay for lawyers to fight this. For generations people have organized to protect our beloved Shawangunks! Now it is our turn!