The Verizon Eyesores

Wednesday, June 1st, 2011

People can find a lot to complain about when it comes to internet service (or lack thereof). But before the residents of Fiske Terrace/Midwood Park even have the chance to enjoy (or loathe) Verizon FiOS, they’ve got some understandable issues with the company. The neighborhood, which is a designated historic district, has started seeing the installation of poles from Verizon, like the one above on East 18th Street between Foster and Glenwood.

The co-presidents of the Fiske Terrace Association are sending a request to the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission to deny approval, which they say is required by Verizon, for the installation of the poles and additional wires:

As you know, our historic district is characterized by graceful turn-of-the-century homes with large trees dotting our streets. What our streetscape does not have is a field of unsightly wires criss-crossing the neighborhood, supported by large poles totally out of character with our historic homes. Our wires and utilities are underground or along the rear yards of our homes.

The Verizon plan for new telephone poles and wires will ruin the environment of our NYC-designated historic district. They will interfere with the natural growth of our trees and become yet another hazard during a significant wind storm….

Please note that the Association is NOT opposing the availability of FIOS in the neighborhood. On the contrary, we welcome FIOS into the neighborhood, but are protesting the manner in which it is being installed.

John Bonomo, a representative from Verizon, explains that the new fiberglass poles are topped with a necessary equipment box, which is to keep the box off of street level, away from vandalism and other elements. “Additionally,” he says, “the cables that run to the equipment box are housed inside the fiberglass pole, removing them from the streetscape.

“While this neighborhood is a designated historic district,” he continues, “Verizon is permitted to place these poles in public ways at necessary locations, so long as the company has not altered the immediate vicinity of the pole, and the pole was placed with all required approvals.”

I could probably live with these poles if it meant watching a movie through Netflix streaming without a constant stutter of information over my poky Cablevision line…

- Mary

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  • Andrew Weakland

    Verizon should worry about the notorious fiske terrace deadzone in their cellular service. 

  • Scott

    I don’t know if this is related to what I saw this morning, but apparently there were some No Parking Sunday June 5/Monday June 6 signs on Westminster (between Beverley and Cortelyou) for what looked like Verizon.

    Just saw them about twenty minutes ago and haven’t hit any other blocks just yet.

  • AB

    It doesn’t look that bad…can pass off for a tree where a dog can pee…So this means FIOS is finally coming to BKLYN? Thank god, now I can call Cablevision and threaten to switch over to FIOS to get a cheaper price!  My building doesn’t allow satellite dishes and cables hanging from the building walls…

  • Bk

    Why not just disguise them as ye olde lampposts, Verizon?

  • Freddy

    One of the “required permits” was approval from the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission.

    Also, the Verizon rep doesn’t address a key issue: the existing Verizon phone connections run on poles through the backyards. Why can’t FIOS be similarly routed?  Too expensive??

    Also, this issue has been picked up on brownstoner.com.  Apparently these poles have been cropping up elsewhere in Brooklyn.

    Marty?????

  • Scott

    No FIOS luck. New signs mention a Verizon television commercial being filmed.

  • weneedthis

    You all realize many New Yorkers work from home, right? It’s their livelihood. Freelancers in media, publishing, the arts, these are exactly the people who are buying in historic areas of Brooklyn and revitalizing them. If they can’t work effectively from home with better access to high speed internet and media streaming and tv that’s a problem for them. They’ll stop coming to places where poles for FIOS are vigorously opposed. Just a thought to chew on.

  • Freddy

    First, it doesn’t follow that if Verizon can’t put up poles that they will not install FIOS.  

    Second, do you really think that availability of FIOS will be more important than price, rent/carrying charges, space, location,  quality of schools, transportation, neighborhood environment, etc when someone decides where to live?  Really?

    By the way, I just read today that this year is expected to have an “active” hurricane season.  I wonder what those poles will be like as projectiles?

  • http://twitter.com/DarlingtonPost Darlington Post

    These are not as ugly as their building in Lower Manhattan. The only one with a name on it.

  • Anonymous

    There won’t be any wires between the poles.  The idea is to keep the switch box out of the way so you don’t end up with a graffiti magnet like this
    http://www.ghsnc.org/graphics/fios_box.jpg

    The reason the backyard tangle won’t work is that in addition to the fiber, you need powered, protected fiber optic switches.  Hence a box and a safe 120 outlet unlike a low power copper phone line.

  • Freddy

    And the reason these boxes cannot be mounted on the poles in the back yards is……

    And by the way, the poles themselves are likely to become graffiti magnets…..

  • Anonymous

    Because the franchise agreement with the city only allows them to dangle cables in the back yard.  To put a box there they need the homeowner to sign a permanent easement.  This hurts the property value since the utility has permanent access rights to that box and drops in regularly and unannounced.  If there is a sucker or two on the block willing to take a quick $5K then maybe they go that route but it is a lot cheaper to just use the city-owned sidewalk.

  • Ed

    The area that this pole is in does not have any above ground wiring. Everything is underground. No back yard poles etc…

  • Freddy

    Not true – the phone lines are on poles running through the back yards of the houses.  I’m looking at them right now…

  • Ed

    This is on East 18th street between Glenwood and Foster.  There are no above ground phone lines

  • Joan Adams

    Come over to Marlborough and Dorchester – I have a heap of Verizon lines ON THE GROUND as they have fallen down from the trees / poles.  I don’t use Verizon – so they won’t respond to my calls – they will only respond to Verizon customers.  So the day I run over these wires with my lawn mower – my neighbors will be out of luck (no phone service) but finally Verizon may get all the wires out of my backyard…

  • weneedthis

    Well yes actually, making a living in the first place is just as important as everything else listed. As for hurricanes, when you start reaching that strenuously for reasons not to have FIOS it seems silly and doesn’t help the argument. It’s better to just say you hate how they look, because for you aesthetics is more important than all else, and leave it at that. Because that’s the truth of it. You’re a NIMBY. Live proud.

  • Freddy

    Gee, thanks for your thoughts, and for personalizing this.  And actually, I’m not a NIMBY – I want FIOS installed along the existing poles and wires in my back yard!

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