Cell phone tower contract a nightmare

Joseph Wroblowski was thrilled when T-Mobile offered to pay him more than $1,000 a month in exchange for putting a 27-foot cell phone antenna - disguised as a flagpole - on the roof of his Maspeth home.
After being criticized by his neighbors and learning more details about the project, Wroblowski decided the star-spangled headache is not worth the money. However, T-Mobile is not going to let him off the hook.
“At first I was happy that I would be getting a check every month for the next 20 years. It was like winning the lotto,” said Wroblowski, the 41-year-old co-owner of a family-run deli. “My family and I have been a fixture in Maspeth for the last 60 years. I would never do anything to hurt my neighborhood.”
Wroblowski’s 72nd Place neighbors became furious with him after learning about the antenna plan at a Community Board 5 meeting on October 10, deriding the antenna as a dangerous eyesore unfit for a residential block. They voiced concerns about potential health risks and said they feared the antenna would topple in bad weather.
“We all feel strongly against it,” said one neighbor, Robert Osman. “The sad part is that this monstrosity is being hidden behind the American flag. It is disgraceful. We need to stand together as a community and fight this.”
Another neighbor, Hope Stancati echoed Osman’s sentiments. “There are schools nearby,” she said. “Shame on Omnipoint for doing this to our children.”
Omnipoint Communications - better known as T-Mobile - is seeking to improve its service and Wroblowski’s two-story home is in the middle of a cellular dead zone, a company official said. “Our need to build is based on customer demand,” said Wayne Lueck, the area director for engineering at T-Mobile. “There are a lot of gaps in calls in that area, especially 9-1-1 and emergency calls.”
However, residents want nothing to do with what many are calling a “flagpole on steroids,” and Wroblowski wants to get out of his contract, saying he never read the document.
T-Mobile, however, isn’t budging. “These are expensive and we don’t just put them anywhere,” said Lueck. “It takes us years to find a suitable location.”
Lueck contended the company has never battled with any community in New York or New Jersey over the placement of a tower. Nevertheless, just last December, residents fought Omnipoint to get an 82-foot-tall flagpole tower planned for Bayside Cemetery reduced by half.
Wroblowski said T-Mobile told him cell phone antennas are perfectly safe.
“At that point I didn’t think I was doing anything wrong,” said Wroblowski. “I mean they’re everywhere.”
Indeed, there are 194 cellular antennas in Queens alone, according to a 2005 report by the city Department of Buildings. T-Mobile says it has six antennas within a mile of Wroblowski’s home.
When he finally read the contract, Wroblowski discovered that the planned pole would be 36 inches in diameter, and would sit atop a base that would add a few more feet onto its 27-foot height. In addition, any wiring and equipment not contained within the structure itself would sit behind a fence encircling the roof.
“They didn’t explain the plan very well,” said Wroblowski. “I don’t need this aggravation.”
“There has been no battle between the neighbors and myself since I’ve spoken to them,” he added. “They understand that I made a bad deal.”