Hello Everyone,

As you know, we did not have a meeting today. Apologies for not contacting you sooner, but have been running against the clock today.

I have been working hard on gathering time-sensitive information regarding many federal bills that are being fast-tracked through the House and Senate right now.  They represent an unprecedented consolidation of power at the federal level in favor of the wireless industry and threaten to take away local government control over wireless permitting. With surgical precision, these bills are cutting away at our successes in NYC, namely, that CityBridge, the site developer for the 5G towers, and moratoria and disapprovals from 16 community boards.  

These bills virtually eliminate the very environmental and historical preservation reviews that CityBridge is required to undergo in NYC, and HR3557 explicitly prohibits moratoria, the very vehicle by which NYC residents and community boards have expressed their opposition. 

These federal bills are running against the tide of opposition in NYC, and are meant to silence NYC residents.  The professed purpose of removing regulatory barriers is a euphemism for removing our voices, and creating barriers to entry for NYC residents to make their voices heard. 

I’m including information about these bills so that you can become acquainted with them and educate our federal legislators (both U.S. Reps and Senators) as the bills are in both chambers.  Here are 2 categories of documents, one focusing on national security and cybersecurity and the second focusing on losing local control over wireless permitting and preempting federal statutes requiring environmental and historic preservation review.  For each category, there is a one page fact sheet and a document with a fuller analysis - so 4 documents.

These bills are moving quickly and some are set for a vote any day now.  We will update you with more federal bills as they start to move through Congress (there are over 50 bills we're tracking). Time is of the essence to educate our NY legislators.

Please let me know if you have any questions.  We will meet next week for an update.