Hello Everyone,

We will not have a meeting tomorrow, Wed, July 31, 2024.  We will resume next week on Wed, July 31, 2024.  

Enjoy the week and the weekend!

The following is news from last week.

Agenda & News Items:

1. FCC Budget hearing was held last Tuesday in the House Subcom of Communications & Tech.  The essential question for the record (QFR) that needs to be asked:  Why has the FCC failed to comply with a 2021 federal appellate court order that remanded its outdated 1996 wireless exposure limits to review for public safety?  Other questions would include:

• What is the status of FCC complying with a court order issued by the US Court of Appeals DC Circuit in 2021 to provide a reasoned explanation for retaining its 1996 limits for human exposure to radiofrequency (cell tower radiation)? When does FCC expect to complete its compliance with the court order?  
• Will the FCC complete a new rulemaking to update its radiofrequency guidelines for human exposure? Such a rulemaking would help assure the public that when the FCC uses federal preemption to force deployments on local governments, that the FCC has determined safety for children and families. Current wireless exposure standards are based largely on 40-60 minute exposures of a small number of monkeys and rats (not more than a dozen each), over 40 years ago. GAO first recommended that the FCC revisit these limits back in 2012 and the FCC has not yet done so.   
• The National Call for Safe Technology submitted testimony to the Subcommittee.

NEWS FROM LAST WEEK:

1. Sec 106 Historic Preservation Review 
   1. Success!  SHPO disapproves 5G Tower siting at 110 E. 88th St which is inside the Park Ave Historic District. 
   2. Opposition: 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.
   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. Manhattan Community Board 10: I recently gave a brief presentation.  CityBridge/Boldyn and NYC's Office of Technology and Innovation (OTI) first gave their presentation. I then rebutted and debunked their assertions, and underscored the adverse health impacts proven scientifically and that people are suffering from in NYC.  OTI showed no understanding and was not interested in the adverse health impacts.  
   5. 5G Towers Will Not Bridge Digital Divide.  Their 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.
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 this week is good news for NYC!  That means FCC is not given automatic deference 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. Excellent Video Compilation of Health Risks of Wireless Radiation  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9TMTexPb_0 
9. 5G: Friend or Foe – A New Documentary (5gfriendorfoe.com) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AA9zJKc3o88&t=1072s
10. 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/ 
11. 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.
12. Section 106 Historic Preservation Review - 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. 
13. SUCCESS!  SHPO says proposed 5G Tower in Brooklyn  Navy Yard, an historic district, will have an adverse aesthetic impact.
14. 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

3. More opposition -- Avenue C Association in MCB3 https://evgrieve.com/2024/05/block-association-asking-for-removal-of.html

4. Status on BxCB12

5. 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."

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

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.

7.  Misinformation from CityBridge / Boldyn on the harms of wireless radiation and towers.  Pamphlets have been published that pushes false information in an effort to densify our streets with wireless radiation.

8.  311 Complaint Campaign - CALL 311 TO COMPLAIN ABOUT THE 5G TOWERS.  We need an official city record of complaints that city officials cannot ignore.

9. 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

10.  Federal bills (70+) - will take away local control.  These telecom bills have passed the House which we need to stop in the Senate (see attached Federal Bills Passed for bill descriptions):

HR 1339 4-26-23

HR 1353 4-26-23

HR 682 7-25-23

HR 1752 3-11-24

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

HR 4510 5-15-24 NTIA Auth Act - subordinates Pentagon and other fed agencies to NTIA which will filter info to the FCC; cybersecurity study but expressly excludes 5G (incorporates HR1123)

HR 1513 5-14-24 passed out of committee, ready to be voted by the House 

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.

11.  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.

12.  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

13.  Other Federal Bills: Our NY delegation is supporting bad 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/.

HR 4510

Problem provisions:

1.     Subordinates the Pentagon to centralized authority of the NTIA and FCC by requiring them and other federal users (e.g., DOD, FAA) to first submit comments to NTIA who will filter and summarize them for FCC. For DOD, creates security risks and risks of connectivity interruptions for DOD operators 

2.     Title II creates unnecessary new layer of bureaucracy for reallocating spectrum for commercial uses (Title II should be deleted).

3.     Provides unnecessary taxpayer subsidy to promote mobile network standard, when wired networks provide far greater cybersecurity (see Sec 406 – should be deleted).

4.     Incorporates HR 1123 which excludes 5G networks from a cybersecurity study on mobile networks, the most insecure of all predecessor networks (see Sec 405(d)(2).  Former FCC Commissioner labeled 5G wireless as "inherently insecure", so to exclude 5G makes this bill a waste of taxpayer dollars.

See you later today.