Resident Seeks to Intervene in AT&T Cell Tower Case vs. Muttontown
Muttontown, New York, resident Russell McRory filed a motion to intervene Monday in AT&T’s Sept. 15 complaint in U.S. District Court for Eastern New York in Central Islip alleging that the town’s failure to approve AT&T’s October 2021 application to…
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build a “stealth” cell tower at the Village Hall “obstructed AT&T’s ability” to remedy a service gap in the community, in violation of the 1996 Telecom Act (see 2210090001). McRory’s home “abuts the premises where the proposed cell tower would be located,” and residents like him “are not aligned” with the village board, which supports the cell tower, against the objections of the local Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA), said his motion (docket 2:22-cv-05524). “This is not the typical cell tower case,” said the motion. “This is not the usual case where a wireless service provider has entered into a lease with a third-party property owner to construct a cell tower, the service provider makes an zoning application to the municipality, and the municipality and the residents rise as one to oppose the cell tower.” The Muttontown case “is more like Game of Thrones,” it said. Residents have “risen up” against the village board’s support for the cell tower, accusing it of concealing from public scrutiny, “and stonewalling the residents’ efforts to obtain information and to be heard in public hearings,” said the motion. The ZBA “denied the variances necessary to construct the cell tower and is therefore at odds” with the village board, it said. “The proposed tower would be right in the middle of a residential neighborhood,” it said. “At 165-feet high, the proposed tower would soar far above the natural tree line, which averages only 80-feet. In fact, it would be the tallest cell tower in the region, exceeding the heights of all other area towers, including those along the Long Island Railroad tracks and the Long Island Expressway.” The proposed cell tower “would have a severe and negative aesthetic impact on nearby residences and would severely and negatively impact property values of those residences,” it said. Muttontown faces an Oct. 26 deadline to answer the AT&T complaint.