Hello Everyone,

We discussed holding our weekly meetings on Wednesdays rather than Tuesdays.  Please let me know if re-scheduling these meetings for Wednesdays still works.  We did not have a meeting last Wed. because of the Town Hall.

Here’s the link to today’s meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYrfuCgrTopHdP3wHQYKbalD4NsgMQ3T-Wi

Quick agenda:
1. Feedback on the Town Hall on the federal telecom bills - and what it means for NYC.

2. Upcoming Town Hall

3. Follow up on Section 106 review and any updates.  

4. Upcoming educational outreach -- community board meetings and presentations in September.

We submitted comments to the Natural Resources Committee of the House of Representatives on HR4141 (see attached). There were over 100 signatories, including organizations.  We did all of this with only 24 hours' notice.

Background on the federal bills:  The 50+ federal bills, which includes HR 3557, that will prohibit moratoria, and virtually eliminate environmental and historic preservation review (see attached Fact Sheet).

This link refers to the 7 federal bills passed out of the Energy and Commerce Committee in one day in April 2023:

https://energycommerce.house.gov/posts/e-and-c-advances-seven-bills-to-close-the-digital-divide-and-improve-american-leadership-in-wireless-communications

More on HR4141: HR4141 virtually eliminates environmental and historical preservation reviews on federal lands.  It represents an unprecedented consolidation of power within the federal government in favor of the wireless industry and threatens to take away local government control over wireless permitting. It runs contrary to the rule of law and threatens, with surgical precision, to undermine current federal statutes and important federal court decisions that otherwise protect the public and the environment.   

HR4141:

• Virtually eliminates environmental and historical preservation reviews on federal lands.
• Overrides established federal laws – the National Environmental Policy Act and National Historic Preservation Act. 
• Preempts all state and local regulations and will push through cell towers / antennas everywhere on federal lands. 
• Runs against the tide of opposition in NYC and the rest of the country and is meant to silence our voices. 
• For NYC residents, may eliminate the very environmental and historical preservation reviews that the site developer for the 5G towers is required to undergo in NYC that may be on federal lands.