Millions of New Yorkers Oppose 5G
Stories of Electric Freedom: New York
Here’s what we’ll learn in this article:
1. How does New York’s history shape the American spirit of Freedom?
2. How does New York relate to ancient world religions of sacrifice?
3. Why are New Yorkers fighting 5G?
4. How are LinkNYC cell towers degrading the cultural landscape of NYC?
5. How do cell towers decrease property values?
6. How many NYC residents are experiencing symptoms of EMF toxicity?
7. How city officials can take back their power
8. Why 5G is creating a digital divide
9. How fiber optics can be the future of NYC
10. My vision of how we can use 5G
“What the head makes cloudy, the heart makes very clear
I know the days were so much brighter in the time when she was here
I know that somebody somewhere can make these dark clouds disappear
But until that day, I have to believe, I believe, I believe
In a New York minute, everything can change
In a New York minute, things can get pretty strange
In a New York minute, everything can change.”
~ Don Henley
Consciousness ebbs and flows in the present, where no time, only potential exists. If we could remain present for ourselves and the health of our loved ones for a New York minute, then the whole world would change overnight. Synthetic electromagnetic radiation is the only pollutant that can be stopped instantly with a flip of a switch, whereas chemicals may take years to remediate.
Millions of New Yorkers are flipping the switch for their health, and honorably defending their cobblestone streets against an artificial 5G landscape that would forever deface and transform the heart of the Big Apple. Odette Wilkins, who was recently quoted in a New York Times article, “Does New York City Really Need These Giant 5G Cell Towers?” is a working group member at the FCC, organizes the National Call for Safe Technology, and is taking action on the front lines of 5G. Odette recently wrote a position paper1 that clarifies the argument on why 5G isn’t safe, necessary, sustainable, or solving any type of digital divide. In fact, this fifth generation technology is doing exactly the opposite.
To understand how New York has arrived at this momentous place in time, let’s first take a stroll down Wall Street’s memory lane.
A Wall of Independence
The Dutch were the first Europeans settlers of New York (NY) City, establishing a trading post called New Amsterdam in 1626. In 1664, the NY territory and its surroundings came under English control and were renamed New York after King Charles II of England granted the lands to his brother, the Duke of York.
In 1765, the British government needed money to afford the 10,000 officers and soldiers living in the colonies, and resolved that colonists should contribute. The British passed a series of taxes aimed at the colonists. Guess what? Americans didn’t take to this proposition very well, and refused to pay taxes, arguing they shouldn’t be held accountable for taxes which were decided upon without their consent. The British Parliament insisted on its right to rule the colonies despite the fact that the colonists had no representative in Parliament.
Taxation without Representation is what led to the American Revolutionary War.
The Battle of Brooklyn was the first, as well as largest battle of the Revolutionary War to take place after the United States of America declared its independence on July 4, 1776. General George Washington and the Continental Army attempted to maintain control over New York, as the city was a prime strategic location for the British. Washington was unsuccessful, and the city was seized by the British in 1776, remaining in their control until the end of the war.
Located at the southernmost part of the island, the Dutch erected a defensive wall to help keep out the British along with pirates. Although this wall was never used for its intended purpose, years after its removal it left a legacy behind it, and is now known as Wall Street.
After the Declaration of Independence was read to the Continental Army in New York on July 9, 1776, a boisterous crowd of soldiers, sailors and citizens headed to the huge gilt lead equestrian statue of King George III, which had been installed on Bowling Green only six years earlier. The crowd toppled the lead statue and melted it down to make guns and 40,088 bullets.2 This is just one example of many that shows just how tenacious and resourceful New Yorkers can be when put to the test.
After America writhed out of its birth canal in New York, the nation was finally born in this city as well. Based in present-day Manhattan, New York served as the capital of the United States from 1785 until 1790, and swore in George Washington as the first US President on the balcony of Old City Hall.3
Although Wall Street never served its purpose in defending against foreign marauders, the financial capital may yet have some fight left, once the city realizes that {enemy} advances don’t always lead to profit. Today the people of New York are battling back invisible raiders of the airwaves, who seek to dominate their town with unrelenting wireless machinery that doesn’t serve the Land of the Free, but makes a Home for the slave. Like many other towns in the world today, New York will have to choose whether it wants to be reborn as a mecca for technocrats, or shine as a city on the hill for all humanity.
A New World Boarder
The name York finds its origins in the English language and can be traced back to the town of Eburos, which was situated in what is now modern-day Yorkshire, England. York is believed to have been originally derived from the Old English words Eofor and Eaburna, which together mean “boar-stream.”
Have you ever wondered why only the nobility of the Middle Ages were allowed to hunt boars? Wealthy Roman gentry would often keep wild boars in their very own private parks. The proximity of the boars also allowed owners to serve an exotic meat to guests on special occasions. The meat held not only a material value, but was also coveted for its spiritual treasure.
The boar holds a place in not only the history of York, but in our world history of religion. Sacrificial boar-gods common to both Scandinavian and Middle-Eastern traditions began with the Indian cult of Vishnu, who claimed to create the world by virtue of his self-sacrifice in boar shape.
Vishnu said the blood of his boar incarnation had the creative power that only the Mother’s blood formerly had:
“Gods and creatures arise out of the sacrifice, for the sacrifice is their appointed food. Everything will always arise from the sacrifice this whole universe is made of the sacrifice.”
As the phallic god who gave his life for humanity, he was worshiped in conjunction with the Goddess by Germanic Aryans who, as Tacitus said, “worship the mother of the gods, and wear as a religious symbol the device of a wild boar.”4 The Germanic boar-god became the doomsday-averting Savior and Lord of Death, in both human and porcine form.5 He was identified with Heimdall, the Norse deity who would sound the Last Trump at doomsday on his ringing horn.6 Heimdall keeps watch for invaders and the onset of Ragnarök (Doomsday) where the burning rainbow bridge Bifröst meets the sky.
“I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.
-Genesis 9:13, King James Bible
Heimdall was “made strong with the force of the earth, with the cold sea and the blood of the sacrificial boar.”7 Like most of the gods described in ancient texts, in dying he begot himself again. The boar-god was sacrificed especially at Yule, with an apple in his mouth, symbolizing his regenerated heart-soul, according to the Scandinavian belief that apples were resurrection charms.8 Hence the traditional Yule pig was roasted with an apple in its mouth.
How does all this relate to The Big Apple, and our planet’s current situation?
New York City is on the sacrificial chopping block. We have broken a natural covenant, and have introduced an Invisible Rainbow of non-native electromagnetic radiation, that is quickly extinguishing life on Earth. Electrosmog is rapidly encroaching on our atmosphere, replacing our rainbows with radiation, as hazy skies are laden with more satellites than stars.
We can resettle a New World like the Dutch settlers gone before us by resounding the clarion call from within our soul. Instead of pairing with bluetooth, why not vibrate in resonance with the magnetic tusks, horns, and antlers of Mother Nature? We live in a world of dualities, playing our part to be good, evil, male, female, bringers of doom, or saviors. However, saviors can only accomplish their goals by enduring the suffering of personal sacrifice.
Why are New Yorkers fighting 5G?
From Odette Wilkins:
“Community boards are increasingly rising in opposition to the Link5G cell towers. Sixteen community boards to date have either disapproved or called for moratoria on these towers. This represents 40% of the 40 community board districts currently being considered for Link5G installations, up to 800 community board members, and an average of about 2 million residents.
This represents more than one-quarter of the NYC population.9 Elected officials are hearing increasingly from their constituents that they are opposed to these towers in their neighborhoods. Several community boards whose districts have been designated as equity districts are bristling at the branding and the accompanying mandate of an exorbitant number of cell towers in their districts, currently, up to 117 towers just in a single district.
The message has been clear, they:
DO NOT NEED Link5G Cell Towers &
DO NOT WANT 5G.
NYC community boards have expressed serious problems with these installations that range from:
aesthetic blight
ill placement in historic districts
lack of privacy and security
rat infestations
adverse health impacts
adverse environmental impacts to birds, bees and trees
In this article, we’ll discuss how New York City could be a template for positive change in taking back our planet Earth, and address why 5G will only weaken the people, their economy, and the cultural heritage of New York City.
Why is 5G seen as advanced?
Again - let’s get some perspective from history. In 1889, the telegraph was able to ramp up the trading speed between Wall Street and other global financial centers such as London.10 As one got closer to Wall Street, they would notice that the telegraph wires became thicker, allowing for increased transmission speed.
Today, we’re bombarded with commercials telling us 5G will be faster than 4G. While this may be true, this does not consider the fact that the internet isn’t solely run on wireless communications, but has massive packets of data that are transmitted via a fiber connection. New wireless technologies, although they’re praised as “lighting-fast” are nothing of the sort compared to fiber optics. For instance, “Gig City” Chattanooga, TN, has the fastest internet worldwide, and leases city fiber to telecomm providers, rather than leasing provider's’ fiber to the city. New Yorkers are waking up to the fact that they should hop on the hardwired Chattanooga choo-choo.
Flaming towers of progress incinerate our culture
“All that is solid melts into air, all that is sacred is profaned, and man is at last compelled to face with sober senses his real conditions of life, and his relations with his kind.”
~ Karl Marx
On April 20, 2023, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) notified CityBridge, the NYC franchisee and site developer for the Link5G cell towers, of its failure to comply with environmental and historic preservation reviews otherwise required under federal law – under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). Those reviews are required prior to construction. However, CityBridge has already constructed and installed 107 towers throughout the City.11
The Office of Technology and Innovation (OTI) is the lead city agency in charge of these installations. Ms. Wilkins’ position paper12 corrects OTI’s assertions of safety, federal oversight, digital equity and privacy and provides a comprehensive analysis of the many adverse implications of the Link5G cell towers, e.g., insufficient fall zones, failure to meet the legal threshold of a gap in phone service to justify imposing these towers in our neighborhoods, and incidents of adverse impacts on first responders from wireless exposure.
The Link5G towers should have been subject to a new RFP (request for proposal) and to Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) that should have involved the community boards. The base franchise agreement with CityBridge referred only to 9-1/2 foot tall “kiosks” with free Wi-Fi, but in Amendment No. 3 to the agreement, OTI proceeded with a vastly different structure (3-1/3 times taller with a multi-tenant set-up) than originally contemplated under the base agreement and the RFP. The Link5G structures are not tiny. They are giant, free-standing, towers about 32’ tall, or 3 stories in height, with housing for multiple 4G/5G antennas being almost 20’ high. The plan is to install a minimum of two-thousand 5G cell towers in the entire city.
“These are 32’ or 3-story towers with no setback requirement on how close they can be to any structure, be it a home, school, hospital or business, or how close they can be to vehicular or pedestrian traffic. This means that in the event of structural failure, the towers may collapse onto nearby structures or onto the street, risking serious property damage and personal injury. Although the CEO of CityBridge, Nick Colvin, recently assured Manhattan Community Board 7 that the structure would not fall, he said that the tops of the poles are made of light plastic that can fall off, but assured the Community Board that no one would get hurt. Despite Mr. Colvin’s assurances, there is no clearer evidence that these structures are not safe for the public.”
- Odette Wilkins, Chair & Co-Founder, The National Call for Safe Technology
In a letter about a proposed site at 184 E. 7th St. in the East Village, advocacy group Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation wrote that a tower would obstruct the view of the “highly detailed, well maintained historic buff brick facade with intact limestone details” of an adjacent building, and from certain vantage points, “visually impede on sightlines to Tompkins Square Park.”13
Rsidents of Carnegie Hill on the Upper East Side say new LinkNYC 5G towers would violate the historic look of the neighborhood, which stretches from East 86th Street to East 96th Street and from Third Avenue to Central Park.
“We deserve the best design possible for our streets, and to re-utilize the existing infrastructure, and that’s a big word that means street lights, newsstands, power pits, so it does not unduly affect the effects of a historic streetscape while still increasing broadband access,” preservation consultant Simeon Bankoff said.
“[Cell anntennas} can be put it on top of buildings. We know there are other ways to do this, and Link5G says this is the only way,” Assembly member Alex Bores added.
Property values: the #1 argument to remove cell towers
New Yorkers prize their economy. The city was built upon the backs of immigrants, and the city’s financial horsepower depends on its cultural vitality. However, these new towers now threaten both the monetary and cultural value of New York.
From Ms. Wilkins:
“The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) classifies towers under “Hazards and Nuisances,” and requires real estate appraisers to report if a property is within the fall zone of a tower.[1] Although HUD does not appear to have a definition for “tower,” the FCC’s definition for a Tower: is any structure built for the sole or primary purpose of supporting FCC-licensed antennas and their associated facilities.” Link5G towers fall squarely within the FCC’s definition. Being that Link5G towers are being placed just feet from residential structures, the homes are within the fall zone of the Link5G towers.
HUD’s Federal Housing Administration (FHA) insures mortgages and requires that the property “must be free of all known hazards and adverse conditions that:
may affect the health and safety of the occupants
may affect the structural soundness of the improvements
may impair the customary use and enjoyment of the property.
The FHA will not underwrite mortgages for properties that meet the criteria for “unacceptable sites:”
“A. UNACCEPTABLE SITES
FHA guidelines require that a site be rejected if the property being appraised is subject to hazards, environmental contaminants, noxious odors, offensive sights or excessive noises to the point of endangering the physical improvements or affecting the livability of the property, its marketability or the health and safety of its occupants.”
Moreover, any proximity of the property to certain conditions must be noted by the appraiser:
“… The appraiser must evaluate whether the property is free of hazards, noxious odors, grossly offensive sights or excessive noises that may:
- endanger the physical improvements
- affect the livability of the property or its marketability
- affect the health and safety of its occupants
“If any of these conditions exist, recommend correction of the problem or rejection of the property and explain.”
In addition, in determining eligibility for an FHA insured mortgage, the appraiser is required to identify “inharmonious land uses:”
“The appraiser must identify all inharmonious land uses in a neighborhood that affect value. Clearly define the current and long-term effect that inharmonious uses will have on the market value and the economic life of the subject property. If inharmonious land use represents a serious detriment to either the health or safety of the occupants or to the economic security of the property, clearly note safety of the occupants or to the economic security of the property - Recommend that the property be rejected by the Lender.”
HUD also looks at the marketability of property:
“The demand for home ownership in a neighborhood is directly related to the marketability of the homes in the neighborhood or in competitive neighborhoods.”
There are potential buyers who do not want to live near cell towers. In some areas that have cell towers, property values have gone down by as much as 20%.14
Up to 30% of NYC Population Experiencing Symptoms
There may be adverse implications for the economy and workforce as more NYC residents become affected by exposure to wireless radiation. With each new “generation” of wireless technology, including 5G, people are being further exposed to wireless radiation which they cannot avoid.
The U.S. Access Board (which advises the Justice Department and other state and federal agencies under the Americans with Disabilities Act) notes that a U.S. National Institute of Building Sciences survey of a representative region found that 2-6% of the population are sensitive to electromagnetic fields, referring to wireless radiation. Based on a population of 7.888 million people in NYC in 2023,[the numbers would range from 157,760 to 473,280 people.
A 2019 study15 by Michael Bevington analyzed the prevalence of symptoms from radiation sickness within the population. Based on the same number, the results are also high:
Contrary to CityBridge’s assertion (during the June 7, 2023 hearing at the NYC Council’s Committee on Technology) that 5G is safe, in reality there has been no pre-market safety testing for 5G, as established by Senator Blumenthal in 2019.16 Three recent 5G case studies since January 2023 consistently show biological effects.1718 19 The studies show that non-ionizing radiation from 5G — well below levels allowed by authorities — can cause serious health problems in individuals who had no prior history of electromagnetic sensitivity (EMS).
In its presentations to community boards, OTI failed to address that there are any scientific studies showing harm. This is despite the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision in 2021 that acknowledged the 11,000 pages of peer-reviewed scientific studies submitted into the FCC docket showing harm below the FCC limits. The Court ruled against the FCC20 and remanded back its limits for failure to review those studies,or examine its effects on children or long-term exposure. To date, the FCC has failed to update its limits dating back to 1996, and can no longer be viewed as protecing the public’s safety. The FCC is an agency captured by the telecomm industry.21
This is Our Town
Continued from Ms. Wilkins’ position paper:
“City officials have been misled to believe that their ”hands are tied,” and must accept 5G deployment as a matter of federal preemption. That is incorrect. A 2022 case in federal district court in New York struck down an FCC rule that strips local authority over the placement of cell towers, underscoring the federal Second Circuit standard that places the burden of proof on the telecom carrier to prove a gap in phone service and to show that in filling that gap they are using the least intrusive means possible. CityBridge has admitted in a community board meeting that they do not have any reports showing a gap in phone service.22
During the June 7, 2023 hearing, a Committee member asked OTI if there were any complaints of adverse health effects. OTI responded that franchisees are contractually required to comply with the FCC emission limits. In not answering the question posed, OTI failed to disclose that in Jan 2023, they heard comments from a police lieutenant in Queens Community Board 1 (Astoria) that when an antenna was placed on top of a utility pole outside his third floor window, he was severely injured experiencing heart arrythmias, sleeplessness and other symptoms. Only when he evacuated his house did the symptoms disappear. Others in NYC have also been severely injured. Although requested, OTI has done nothing to move that antenna.”
Creating a digital divide
Continued:
“LinkNYC kiosks were designed to provide public Wi-Fi. Instead, Link5G structures are cell towers designed to house multiple 4G/5G antennas from multiple carriers for private customers, in addition to Wi-Fi. Ultra-high-band 5G being used for the free Wi-Fi will extend only about 500’, which will provide only incidental access in the home to the extent that it reaches that far, and yet no customer service in case the service goes down in the home.
The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported that 5G deployment is likely to exacerbate disparities in accessing telecommunications services.
Moreover, the National Digital Inclusion Alliance testified in Congress that “5G will not solve the digital divide” and 5G service will require 5G capable cell phones, which the underserved, low income households, will likely not be able to afford. As to the longevity of a 5G phone, telecom carriers have been advising their customers to turn off 5G on their cell phones to save battery life on their devices.
In fact, the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) spotlighted the major underlying flaws of the LinkNYC project, how it has “failed to deliver on its promise to improve New Yorkers' access to the internet and close the digital divide” and that it does not “offer the speed and reliability of a broadband connection.”23
The NYCLU suggests that NYC “deliver affordable fiber broadband to all city residents so they don’t need to huddle in the street [in front of LinkNYC kiosks] in the first place.” It has been theorized that “a city-owned municipal network would understandably upset regional mono/duopolies Verizon and regional cable giant Charter Communications (Spectrum).”
In the BigApple Connect program, NYC is paying out $90 million to provide free fiber broadband for 3 years to about 400,000 people in public housing in NYC, who, after those 3 years, will find themselves having to pay market rates to a company that will then have a monopoly in providing services to them. Instead, NYC could have applied that $90 million to pay for the $156 million to build an open access fiber network where all service providers could compete and join other cities doing the same that are able to provide “better, faster and cheaper broadband.”24
Fiber is our future
A transition from wireless to fiber would be easy, because 4G and 5G depend on fiber optics. Fiber optics are already running up the pole of the cell tower to supply energy to wireless antennas. The environmentally-friendly alternative would be to extend fiber a few feet or yards to the premises (FTTP) – to homes, businesses, schools, medical facilities, in short, to all locations. Keeping telecommunications infrastructure underground would also limit any aesthetic blight that would lead to a decline in property values. Wireless equipment also has a much shorter life span (about 5 years), and requires continuous periodic maintenance and replacement, whereas fiber has a life span of 25-50 years.
CityBridge will be building out New York’s fiber optic network for free. However, there is already a fiber optic network built out by Verizon, apparently, to many parts of the City, and CityBridge has been reported trying to connect to Verizon’s already existing fiber. In addition, the fiber run is only to the pole, not fiber to the premises. This means that residents will get the shorter end of the stick, with the lagging speeds that wireless offers, including 5G.25
My question is - how are we going to repurpose all those towers after we don’t need them anymore, like the colonists did the statue of King George III? It’s not like all those parts can be recycled. My top three ideas are to convert them into:
Standalone charcoal grill ovens to cook hot dogs
Citronella towers to combat the humid city’s mosquitoes
Stop signs when we have flying skateboards like in Back to the Future.
Does anyone else here remember that version of the future that was sold to us, that doesn’t require us to sit in electromagnetic radiation chambers called Teslas?
Wise cities are our smart future.
I mean, if we’re going to have a smart city, it might as well be a fun one, and not a boar.
We are more powerful than we know.
Roman & Bohdanna
Know any fellow New Yorkers?
Please share.
It will only take you a New York minute to help change the world.
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Additional Resources:
On Stamford Connecticut:
https://www.sethkaller.com/item/2191-21297.99-Pulling-Down-New-York%E2%80%99s-Statue-of-King-George-III
https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/presidential-residency-in-new-york
https://www.philipharland.com/Blog/2022/07/germans-tacitus-germania-in-full-late-first-century-ce/
Turville-Petre, 154.
Turville-Petre, 147-48.
Turville-Petre, 187.
“Community districts range in … population from a little more than 50,000 residents to more than 200,000.” https://www.nyc.gov/site/planning/community/community-portal.page#:~:text=Community%20districts%20range%20in%20size,residents%20to%20more%20than%20200%2C000. Two million is based on an average between 50,000 and 200,000 = 125,000; 125,000 x 16 community boards = 2,000,000.
In 2023, NYC population is 7,888,121, https://worldpopulationreview.com/us-cities/new-york-city-ny-population.
Overview of community board actions in New York City, https://ehtrust.org/5g-in-new-york/.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/wall-street-1889-the-telegraph-ramps-up-trading-speed-1404765917
CityBridge CEO Nick Colvin’s presentation to the Landmarks Committee of Manhattan Community Board 7 on 5-30-23.
https://www.ourtownny.com/news/32-foot-linknyc-5g-towers-get-pushback-from-historic-preservation-advocates-JM2916083
The Electrifying Factor Affecting Your Property’s Value, Wall Street Journal, Aug 15, 2018, A study spanning 1984 to 2002 found that the prices for 4,283 residential sales in 4 suburbs were reduced by about 21%: https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-electrifying-factor-affecting-your-propertys-value-1534343506.
Bevington, Michael. "‘Proof of EHS beyond all reasonable doubt’. Comment on: Leszczynski D. Review of the scientific evidence on the individual sensitivity to electromagnetic fields (EHS). Rev Environ Health 2021; https://doi.org/10.1515/reveh-2021-0038. Online ahead of print" Reviews on Environmental Health, vol. 37, no. 2, 2022, pp. 299-301. https://doi.org/10.1515/reveh-2021-0101
Feb 2023 study of two previously healthy men rapidly developed typical “microwave syndrome” symptoms shortly after a 5G cell tower was installed on the roof of their office: headaches, joint pain, tinnitus, abnormal fatigue, sleep disturbances, burning skin, anxiety and trouble concentrating:https://www.anncaserep.com/open-access/development-of-the-microwave-syndrome-in-two-men-shortly-after-9589.pdf.
Environmental Health Trust, et al v FCC, D.C. Court of Appeals, 2021.
Manhattan Community Board 8, Transportation Committee meeting of Dec 7, 2023.
The recent SCOTUS Chevron ruling should create opportunities to fight back on this. An interesting one is made in this quote:
“It opens the possibility that people who disfavor particular regulations, for whatever reason, can form a business and they know that the nature of the business is going to conflict with the regulation — will adversely affect the business complying with the regulation. Then all of a sudden, they’re going to be able to challenge that rule. So you might see more manufactured challenges, in that sense."
That can mean a business to remove 5G from NYC or anywhere could challenge the FCC and earn the right to do so. Imagine a citizen funded non-profit or B corp doing such a thing!
https://federalnewsnetwork.com/agency-oversight/2024/07/agencies-knew-this-was-coming-what-does-and-doesnt-change-after-supreme-courts-chevron-ruling/
The rest of the country should be queried as well, not just NY.