Hello Everyone,

Agenda:

1. MCB1 Environmental Committee votes for moratorium on 5G Towers.  Landmarks Committee and full board will be voting on the 5G Towers.  
2. Status on BxCB12 
3. NY Post listings by Crown Castle and other franchisees on 5G proposed installations for historic and environmental reviews - the 30 day time clock starts when Crown Castle files applications with SHPO; but since we don't have transparency on when the filings have been done, it may be safer to calculate from the posting date of the relevant ad in the NY Post.  
4. Congress / Senate.  Meetings with federal, state and local lawmakers - we need to schedule meetings to talk about the federal telecom bills (over 70 bills) that will take away all local control.
   1. Submissions were made to the House Energy & Commerce Committee (for the NTIA hearing yesterday) and to the NTIA (which requested public comment) opposing BEAD monies to be made available for LEO (low earth orbit) satellites as they will accelerate terrestrial wireless infrastructure. 
5. Complaint 311 campaign.  We need an official city record of complaints that city officials cannot ignore.

 News Items:

1. Is 5G Safe? 
   1. The WHO’S International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified wireless radiation (2G and 3G) as a possible human carcinogen back in 2011,[1] similar to lead, diesel fuel and gasoline engine exhaust.  
      1. The WHO carefully states on its website that “only a few studies have been carried out at the frequencies to be used by 5G”[2] thereby skirting the issue of 5G safety. Indeed, a number of studies since Jan 2023 have already shown harm.[3] 
      2. When the WHO states on its website lack of causality of harm from wireless radiation,[4] it is simply based on its old 2011 IARC classification based on possible carcinogenicity.  However, over a decade later, Dr. Miller, a former Senior Epidemiologist and Senior Scientist at the IARC has stated, “[t]here is sufficient evidence to now classify radiofrequency radiation as a human carcinogen.” [5]

c.  Eight studies since Jan 2023 show adverse health impacts from exposure to 5G towers.  Previously healthy individuals developed typical “microwave syndrome” symptoms shortly after the towers were installed:  headaches, abnormal fatigue, heart arrythmia, burning skin, trouble concentrating. The significance of these reports is that non-ionizing radiation from 5G — well below levels allowed by authorities — can cause health problems in individuals who had no prior history of electromagnetic sensitivity.  Dr. Lennart Hardell, lead author of the reports and a world-renowned scientist on cancer risks from radiation, affirms these reports as “groundbreaking” because they serve as the “first warning of a health hazard.”  Some of these case studies include a 63 year old man and 62 year old woman where 5G antennas were on their home rooftop, two men where 5G antennas were on their business rooftop, 52 year old woman whose apt was 60 meters from a 5G base station (cell tower).

d.  Powerful Video Compilation of Health Risks of Wireless Radiation  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9TMTexPb_0

e.   A child featured in that video, Mason Ferulli at age 10 who contracted brain cancer after a cell tower was installed at his elementary school, has recently died.  He endured many surgeries to save his life as chronicled here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-the-ferrulli-family-in-memory-of-mason.  After many teachers got breast cancer and 3 other children got cancer, the tower was removed.  No cases of cancer since cell tower removal.

2.  Sec 106 Review -- NYC Historic Preservation -- Updates

ALERT! Notices are being posted in the New York Post by Crown Castle and Boldyn (formerly CityBridge) to put 4G/5G antennas on utlity poles.  You must respond within 30 days after the posting to state any adverse aesthetic effects under federal law, otherwise, you will lose your chance to oppose them.  See attached list. 

WE NEED MORE CONSULTING PARTIES!  THE GENERAL PUBLIC CAN ALSO COMMENT.  See attached document entitled "Section 106 Review ... " for instructions. Deadlines to file comments on many 5G Towers have already passed and others are fast approaching.  YOU NEED TO ACT NOW!

a. Your Sec 106 participation is crucial from community boards and civic associations in Washington Heights, Lower East Side, Jamaica, Queens, Brooklyn, Bronx, Staten Island.  YOU'RE GETTING CLOBBERED WITH 5G TOWERS.  The NYS Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) has not objected to Towers in many locations. Those are missed opportunities.

3. 5G Tower Invasion:  Proposed sites at Broadway and 62nd, 63rd and 64th Streets, 37 Mott Street in Chinatown.  Manhattan CB 12 - Washington Heights/Inwood - will soon be getting clobbered with 5G Towers, but despite many presentations to MCB12, no one has been interested in protecting MCB12.  Despite the community furor over 689 Fort Washington Ave last year, a 5G Tower is slated to be installed there.  Wired Broadband filed a report to SHPO opposing its installation there, but SHPO instead concurred with CityBridge/Boldyn. 

4. Why are 5G Towers being constructed in a district which issued a moratorium?  That is happening in QCB12. CityBridge had already installed 107 towers when it was notified by the FCC in April 2023 that the towers must undergo environmental and historical preservation review.  Construction seemed to have stopped.  However, it was reported in March 2024 that 140 towers were installed, and that as of May 2024, CityBridge reported that 160 towers have been installed.  It is not clear why an additional 53 towers have been installed while CityBridge is undergoing environmental and historic preservation review on its towers. 

5. 5G Towers Will Not Bridge Digital Divide.  OTI's assertions of bridging the digital divide are debunked when (1) they are meant for mobility not in-home use and (2) they cannot show that where they are placing the 5G Towers need the service.  Their answer has been that the telecom carriers determine where they are placed, but refuse to disclose why they are being placed in specific locations, claiming that info is proprietary.  Sorry, but when telecoms use our public rights of way (sidewalks, utility poles), then there should be NO proprietary info, but full public disclosure.  Now, there is NO public disclosure.  NEW RULE: no public disclosure, no use of our public rights of way.

6. Opposition to 5G Towers: Council Member Gayle Brewer recently wrote her opposition to the 5G Towers in her district to SHPO and to Commissioner Matt Fraser of NYC's Office of Technology since last year.  See attached letter.  Council Member Brewer chairs the Committee on Oversight and Investigations.  It would be good for her Committee to investigate the entire 5G Tower debacle.

7. OTI Not Interested in Adverse Health Effects: In a recent presentation by OTI and CityBridge, I rebutted with the adverse health impacts proven scientifically and that people are already suffering in NYC.   

11. Defend our Landlines!  Verizon has been retiring its copper lines in NYC for several years.  That means if you can't make a 911 call if your cell service goes down.  That recently happened in CA that left over 70,000 stranded.  Contact your City Council member and your US Representative.

US government says that AT&T paid bribes to state of Illinois to allow them to eliminate landlines

12.  Letters to the Editor

See examples:

• Brain Neurosurgeon on the harms of cell towers 5-3-24 https://www.smdailyjournal.com/opinion/letters_to_editor/cell-facilities-in-san-mateo/article_c5e54afc-09ae-11ef-b326-a7da7fe65457.html
• The harms of electromagnetic fields https://www.theepochtimes.com/epochbuy/the-harms-of-electromagnetic-fields-how-to-protect-yourself-5628078?utm_source=commentbtn&utm_medium=email&cmt=1&utm_campaign=cns-2024-05-09&cmt_id=4ed5fbf7-8533-4f1d-b91c-2a227c775701
• Broadband.io https://www.broadband.io/c/get-broadband-grant-alerts-news/1-million-in-new-york-city-alone-could-lose-broadband-internet-due-to-acp-defunding?login_token=dE1MpufHMh3qH2GLecdrvxjiGEa8KXfX7ffG

Federal Bills With Impacts for NYC

1. Rep. Cammack (FL) of the House Subcom of Communications & Tech submitted the essential question for the record (QFR):  Why has the FCC failed to comply with a 2021 federal appellate court order that remanded its outdated 1996 wireless exposure limits to review for public safety?  
   1. This has far-reaching implications for NYC - if the FCC cannot ensure public safety, then why are 5G Towers and 4G/5G antennas on street poles being placed so close to where we live and work?
   2. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals pointed out that, based on the over 1000 scientific studies in the FCC's docket showing harm without heating human tissue, the FCC's premise that heating human tissue is required to cause harm may now be incorrect. 
   3. Unfortunately, our own Rep. Yvette Clarke also on that Subcom did not respond to multiple requests to submit the question.

2.  Federal bills (70+) - will take away local control.  See https://ehtrust.org/congress/ .  The following bills have passed the House which we need to stop in the Senate:

HR 1339 "Precision Agriculture" will carpet farms with wireless infrastructure that will dessimate bees, insects, cattle, flora (already proven with bees abandoning hives, reduced milk production and deformities and deaths in cattle 

HR 1353 will lead to compelled installation of wireless infrastructure

HR 682 compels spectrum availability for satellite launches which will litter the sky with satellite debris (Starlink reported 25,000 collision avoidance maneuvers within 6 mos)

HR 1752 allows Sec of Commerce to give broadband grants to build out wireless infrastructure without community input

HR 6492 4-9-24 Fed Omnibus Bill to carpet natl parks w/ cell towers (incorporates S.2018)

HR 4510 5-15-24 NTIA Reauth Act - subordinates Pentagon and other fed agencies to NTIA which will filter info to the FCC. For DOD, creates security risks and risks of connectivity interruptions for DOD operators.  Incorporates HR 1123 which expressly excludes 5G from a cybersecurity study of mobile networks; 5G is the most insecure of prior networks according to former FCC Chair Tom Wheeler.  

Originating in the Senate:  S. 4207 S. 3909 increasing spectrum authority and increasing the FCC budget - should not occur until the FCC complies with the 2021 court order to review its wireless limits for public safety. 

S. 2855 will exempt most wireless installations on federal lands from environmental review under NEPA; that includes carpeting our forests where people otherwise go for refuge from technology.

In the House:  HR 1513 5-14-24 passed out of committee, ready to be voted by the House; taskforce on 6G; needs to include study of environmental and adverse health effects. 

Many other bills are now moving in Congress.  These bills will eliminate our local control over wireless permitting/placement, prohibit moratoria and eliminate environmental and historical preservation reviews. See below for federal bills update.

• SET UP MEETINGS NOW WITH: Reps. Espaillat, Jeffries, Clarke, Malliotakis, Meeks, Meng, Velazquez, Suozzi, Goldman, Torres.  Let me know when you do. Unfortunately, our NY delegation is voting for all of the bad bills.  Call them today to schedule a meeting.
• We are setting up meetings with Senators Schumer and Gillebrand.
• See new voting guide at https://thenationalcall.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/voting-guide-federal-bills-3-31-24-1.pdf and att'd fact sheets and https://ehtrust.org/congress/
• See Congressional briefing providing a comprehensive overview of the issues.  https://thenationalcall.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Congressional-Briefing-5-19-24-FINAL.pdf
• Federal Bills committee of the National Call for Safe Technology meets every Thursday, 4-6pm ET; let me know if you're interested.

Our NY delegation is supporting bad federal telecom bills, please contact your Representative today:

• HR 4510 - NTIA Reauthorization Act - vote postponed - ask your US Rep for amendments (requires cybersecurity study but expressly excludes 5G) - see below
• HR 3294 - Nydia Velazquez sponsor
• HR 5919 and HR 4235 - Lawler sponsor
• HR 1123 - passed House, voted by Nadler, Lawler, Goldman, Jeffries, Malliotakis, Espaillat, Clarke, Meeks, Meng, Velazquez, Torres, Ocasio-Cortez - Now included in HR 4510 NTIA Reauth, ASK: must amend to include 5G in cybersecurity study with required Homeland Security input
• HR 1353 - passed House, voted by ditto
• HR 1339 - passed House, voted by ditto
• HR 6492 - passed House, co-sponsored by Lawler
• Every success we've had in NYC - disapprovals and moratoria on 5G Towers - are expressly prohibited under HR 3557, and our success in envt'l and historic preservation reviews will be virtually eliminated under HR 3557, HR 4141, etc.  
• HR 6492 will carpet our national parks with cell towers, which do catch on fire. CA had 4 major fires from faulty telecom eqpt - Woolsey Fire (2018) caused $6 bil in damages, 295,000 pp evacuated, 100,000 acres of land destroyed and several deaths. See below the fold for "Cell Towers & Fires" at https://thenationalcall.org/advocacy-and-action/.

ARCHIVED NEWS FROM JULY:

1. Sec 106 Historic Preservation Review - Success! 
   1. SHPO disapproves 5G Tower siting at 110 E. 88th St which is inside the Park Ave Historic District. 
   2. SHPO disapproves 5G Tower in Brooklyn  Navy Yard, an historic district.
2. Stopping childhood addiction to social media by banning cell phones in schools.  States are passing legislation.  See Virginia https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/10/us/virginia-school-cell-phone-restrictions-youngkin/?dicbo=v2-rQeygqN&hpt=ob_blogfooterold .  Should NY do the same?
3. Chevron's demise by the U.S. Supreme Court is good news for NYC!  That means FCC's rule compelling 5G Tower installation can be challenged based on the FCC no longer being given deference. FCC is not given automatic deference by the courts and that statutory ambiguity will be determined by the courts, not the FCC.  It is grounds for challenging the FCC's 5G "small cell" order on an as applied basis which telecoms have been using as a club against local government to say that their "hands are tied" and that telecoms can place their irresponsible towers wherever they want.  However, NYC is ahead of the game, because in 2022 a senior district court judge in EDNY refused to defer to the FCC on that "small cell" order, ruling that it is the court that interprets the law, not the FCC, and that the law in the Second Circuit is that telecoms must prove a gap in phone service.  Moreover, the FCC's "small cell" order does not apply to NY jurisdiction.  Extenet v. Village of Flower Hill.  Unfortunately, NYC has not preserved our rights under the CityBridge or any of the other 12 telecom franchise agreements.  This should be investigated by the NYC Council's Oversight Committee.
4. FCC has failed to comply with the 2021 court order which remanded the FCC's emission limits based on its failure to review 11,000 pages of scientific, peer-reviewed, studies showing biological harm below those limits, long-term exposure and impacts on children.  Therefore, until the FCC complies with the court order, the FCC should not be given additional spectrum licensing authority and their budget should not be increased (see e.g., S. 4207 and S. 3909)
5. FCC must comply with new NEPA rules; may have implications for NYC.  Need to contact Rep. Nadler to again write to the FCC this time regarding how these more stringent rules will apply to NYC going forward. "To date, the FCC has had neither the personnel nor resources to comply with NEPA; to comply with 2024 Council for Environmental Quality (CEQ) rules, it must now have both, as well as a designated senior official and a chief engagement officer." https://peer.org/commentary-what-the-fcc-must-do-to-comply-with-new-nepa-rules/   The National Call for Safe Technology through its individual members submitted comments to the CEQ in 2022.  https://thenationalcall.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/CEQ-Submission-5-25-22-CEQ-2022-0002-0023.pdf 
6. Net Neutrality will be a disaster for NYC because there is a poison pill that will expand preemption and further the irresponsible placement of cell towers, including 5G towers. By making broadband a Title II telecom service, the FCC will have greater preemption authority on cell tower deployment.  Contact your federal Rep and U.S. Senators to write the FCC to forebear from preempting local government.
7. GOOD NEWS! NY Budget Passes Without Anti-Municipal Broadband Language https://www.aapb.us/post/news-new-york-budget-passes-without-anti-municipal-broadband-language  That means that local communities are free to choose the kind of public broadband network that best serves their residents with universal service, and at more affordable prices than incumbents have provided.  Let's apply that to NYC, a municipal broadband network that doesn't force 5G Towers when 25% of NYC have said they don't want them.
8. 5G: Friend or Foe – A New Documentary (5gfriendorfoe.com) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AA9zJKc3o88&t=1072s
9. Full steam ahead for 5G – and let’s not even think about the damage to health, Gillian Jamieson https://www.conservativewoman.co.uk/how-to-shield-yourself-from-the-5g-menace/ 
10. Support Smart Meter Opt-Out Bills in NYS - S-5642-A and A-9148A, https://www.americansforresponsibletech.org/nysmartmeters ; also see, New York Safe Utility Meter Association https://www.nysuma.org/ .  Biological risks of wireless radiation from smart meters.
11. In case you missed it: NYT Street Wars Article of 6-10-24 on 5G Towers - please comment -- I was interviewed and quoted, https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/10/nyregion/street-wars-new-york-city-5g-towers.html#commentsContainer.  There were 257 comments.  The NYT has closed its online comments but is accepting letters to the editor at letters@nytimes.com.

Please send a letter to the editor on the 2000 5G Towers slated for NYC (160 have already been constructed).  

It would be great if you would write about issues that the reporter left out:

• wireless will never bridge the digital divide
• wireless health hazards / bio-effects on people / children
• 5G had no pre-market testing for safety
• environmental impacts
• fire risk
• security risk / surveillance
• the fact that the FCC has failed to comply with the  DC Circuit Court of Appeals mandate for the FCC to review its limits in light of the 11,000 pages of science submitted in its docket

12. NYS Releases Bead PreQualifications https://broadbandbreakfast.com/new-york-releases-bead-prequalification-applications/; see model language to include in these prequalification applications at https://thenationalcall.org/resources/ under the fold "Additional Valuable Resources" and click on "Suggest BEAD Comments to Your State."

13.  National Call for Safe Technology - Sign up to connect with other advocates nationwide. We meet every 2nd and 4th Friday; to sign up, email me or go to thenationalcall.org.