BSA Rejects Antennae Permit Request

The city’s Board of Standards and Appeals (BSA) unanimously rejected an application submitted by Continental Communications for an operating permit for antennae on the roof of North Shore Towers.
North Shore Towers originally entered into a 99-year contract with Continental Communications in 1988, but the permit expired this year, and the BSA shot down their request for a new one.
Shortly after the BSA decision, Bob Ricken, President of the Board of Directors at North Shore Towers, sent a letter to all of the residents alerting them to the decision. He also praised the support that the Towers received from Community Board 13 and elected officials, including City Councilmembers Jim Gennaro and Peter Vallone, Jr., who have publicly supported North Shore Towers on the issue.
Meanwhile, North Shore Towers has hired its own engineering firm that is in the process of conducting an exhaustive study of the rooftop antennae to determine how many antennae are actually on the roof and what they are being used for.
In addition, the study will also examine and potential radiation effects from the antennae, and the results would likely be available during the September open Board meeting, according to Ricken.
North Shore Towers previously conducted a study in 2003 that found no excess radiation from the antennae and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) conducted a study in May of this year that also found no excess radiation.
Eric Palatnik, the attorney who represents Continental Communications, did not return multiple messages left at his law office seeking comment on the matter.