A rendering of what one of the new poles would look like on 67th Street and Broadway. Via DOITT.
The LinkNYC sites that have sprouted all over the neighborhood in recent years could get a new addition — 5G towers meant to give New Yorkers ultra-fast service.
The proposed towers would rise 32 feet into the air, versus the 10-foot towers now on the sites. The city’s Public Design Commission revealed the renderings and specs in a presentation ahead of a meeting on October 18, as first reported by Crain’s. The LinkNYC kiosks now have free phone and Internet service.
Currently, most cell service in the city is 4G (fourth generation), but the 5G standard is spreading throughout the country and world. “The growth from 4G to 5G will require the installation of larger pole-mounted equipment and will support making faster, higher quality service equitably available in every neighborhood in the city,” the design commission says. The commission says the height of the poles is similar to street poles already on many city streets. And it says the transmitter must be at least 19.5 feet high. The poles may or may not also have screens showing ads.
Telecom companies can apply to reserve space on the poles that the city is setting up. The commission says that 90% of the poles will be placed above 96th Street or in boroughs outside Manhattan “to expand connectivity to underserved communities.”
Members of the public who want to submit comments directly to DoITT can e-mail 5GDesignFeedback@doitt.nyc.gov. To submit comments directly to the PDC, e-mail designcommission@cityhall.nyc.gov.
Without screens and ads the poles could be innocuous, few would even notice them above eye level.
With ads, they’ll be giant eyesores.
It just can’t be good for our health, and what about the birds???
5G is indeed harmful to our health. But most people prefer to remain in their comfort zones. However, anyone who has done the least bit of research into the world of AI knows that 5G is another step forward into a transformation of epic proportions – transforming humanity into a new race of beings –
mind controlled.biological entities.
Don’t spread your misguided, uneducated drivel. Please.
100% incorrect. 5G is NOT dangerous to our health as has been studied and proven time and again. You repeating this lie on your every post does not change that fact.
Actually they look nice and unobtrusive
Am wondering how far from the poles will one be able to get 5G signal.
Completely depends on the frequency of the signal. Some are a few hundred feet, some are many city blocks
Range is typically 50-100 feet.
No surprise that they’re going to situate these towers in less affluent areas- have people of color suffer the health consequences for the man’s profits- under the guise of “better service.”
When did 67th and Broadway become impoverishd?
You’re always looking for a reason to blame the man, aren’t you.
Who is this “man” you guys keep talking about??
I keep hearing this and I just can’t figure it out. Is it Spiderman? Is it The Man of La Mancha? Manfred Mann (and the Earth Band)?
I really hope it’s Spiderman. Although I don’t see what he ever did that was so bad. I mean, he’s just a friendly, neighborhood web-slinger after all. I know he’s from Queens and NOT the UWS but let’s not hold that against him.
“The Man” is a slang phrase, used in the United States, that may refer to the government or to some other authority in a position of power.
Come on, Don!
You must have known I was kidding around. I mean, I know it wasn’t that funny but it surely wasn’t a serious inquiry.
Don’t take everything so literally, Amigo. You do realize that Spiderman is a fictional character, right? And remember, weed is legal in New York now…
5G may provide faster service but 5G is hazardous to human health. Children are most vulnerable. 5G cell towers have now been installed in all 5 boros, in all neighborhoods on low rooftops and poles. If you wish to become informed on 5G and how to protect yourself and family from the health hazards of 5G Les Jamieson has been documenting the dangerous levels of pulse emissions often 100,000 – 200,000 times above allowable range and has presented his videos to groups and to elected officials around the city.
You’re part of a global problem. Stop spreading your misinformation and go back to school. The internet was created to move mankind forward.
Try wrapping your head in tin foil, a known shield for brainwaves.
Brandon, yes! Tinfoil works wonders in keeping the deleterious effects of 5G from harming your mind. Also, these new 5G towers have been shown, if you do a little bit of research (Thank G-D for Facebook), to allow the government to read your mind. What would we have done if we didn’t find those plans on Hillary Clinton’s email server?
The worst part is, there are way too many Americans who think any of this, let alone all of this, is true.
Tin foil actually works good and will soon be mandated along with mask. I am looking for investors in my tin foil hat company…
All incorrect.
I wasn’t sure. Thanks for clearing that up.
I forgot my phone the other day and needed to call my husband. I had to go to 3 Link phones, right in the area of Broadway and 67th in the photo, before finding one that worked. They are just billboards. They are not providing free phone and internet for the public.
Folks, 5G technologies have been proven to be safe for human cells. Time and time again. The number of studies made by industry and non industry participants stands in the hundreds and still growing.
anther assault on our eyes and eventually will become sources of disdain as years ago with the enclosed street phone booths.
I hate the Link kiosks and I hate these.
Really? Why? I love that they show local information and artists, and it’s nice to see a good old fashioned print ad campaign once in a while. I’ve never used one in a pinch for anything, but I’m sure there are some instances where it could come in quite handy.
As for the poles, they don’t look huge but it is hard to tell from these renderings.
They don’t look too bad. Integrate in some street lighting functions for the night time and it’ll blend in just fine. No ad screens larger than a single iPad though.
I have one under my window and I live on a low floor. It will look, uh, interesting hovering outside my window at eye-height.
As long as we keep these above 96th Street I’m OK. I don’t want to open my shades in the morning and see this thing beaming at me. Estrogen levels in UWS males are already too high.
Unapologetic NIMBYism at its best!
Wow, those things are seriously ugly.
By the time we get to 10G, these towers will be taller than the Empire State Building but we will be able to communicate with relatives and friends in Heaven. I expect to be on the receiving end by then.
Seems like a good solve for an incredibly high speed platform that has a restricted range of 500m under ideal circumstances. 5G has been proven to be safe again and again and will allow high speed home internet without going through the cable company.
5G emits EMF radiation at 3.5 to 3.6GHz. A microwave oven uses 2.4 GHz. Read the article in Scientific American, “We Have No Reason to Believe 5G Is Safe” https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/we-have-no-reason-to-believe-5g-is-safe/
I did not vote for this. Democracy? I worked at a large cultural institution, voted in every election, supported local business, participated in community board meetings and volunteered consistently for years. I will leave NYC for good before these towers are installed.
Please don’t let the door hit you on the way out.
The WiFi in your home broadcasts out at 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz wavelengths. If you object to the wavelengths of 5G Cellular, why do you still have WiFi on your own home?
Why can’t people tell the difference between an opinion piece published in a newspaper/magazine/website and actual journalism? It is so sad.
Josh, the difference is the power transmitted by a 5G sector antenna is way beyond a home WiFi router. And so moving these to much closer human proximity than the cell towers and rooftops _might not_ be safe. More research is needed before this should be approved. (and the mm-wave spectrum probably wont be deployed, given the mid-band spectrum acquisition by Vz since article was published).
Um, no. Every carriers’ 5G strategy for urban areas (read: density) is based on mm wave.
C-band is for the burbs and farms.
That’s an Opinion piece. Not actual research. It is saying we should watch and study 5G. But like lots of modernizations: electricity, radio, telephone, the internet, the benefits outweighed the risks. Well, maybe not the internet….
Farewell!
How come the public was not notified about these pending 5G Radiation Frequency towers and no public hearings are taking place to allow people to voice their concerns? When a restaurant applies for sidewalk cafe license, fliers are posted and a public hearing takes place. These towers involve privatization of public sidewalk space and citizens have a right to object. Cell phone towers have been linked to cancer clusters in London and the United States. https://www.saynoto5g.gg/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Cancer-clusters-near-towers.pdf
When did we get so many nutty 5G people around here?
The commission says that 90% of the poles will be placed above 96th Street or in boroughs outside Manhattan “to expand connectivity to underserved communities.”
GOOD. Don’t want too many of those things around. 4G is fine.
lol it says to “expand”, which implies that the existing 5G coverage is already robust under 96th. Better keep that tinfoil hat on!
I’m not a 5G conspiracist, I just don’t want the big ugly poles.
Some of you haven’t read the article carefully: It states that THE POLES MAY HAVE ADVERTISING ON THESE (or May Not). These Poles will Be Lit Up… 24/7 with Blaring Lights and DIGITAL ADVERTISEMENTS — directly shining into people’s apartment windows. Do you want to be the person looking out your window and seeing This Garbage right outside? These Poles Will Rise Up As High As The Second Story of some Buildings. Right now, there are Many Intersections with two Kiosks on each corner, sometimes three. These will be A Visual Nightmare for some intersections.
THESE AREN’T INNOUCOUS – THESE WILL BE MONSTEROUS TOWERS OF VISUAL POLLUTION.
READ: “Telecom companies can apply to reserve space on the poles that the city is setting up.” – ADVERTISING SPACE IS BEING RESERVED FOR THESE POLES !!!!
These are slated for ‘Underserved Areas’… Targeting lower-income areas of NYC with Commercial Advertising. These kiosks, from the beginning, were installed for the main purpose of generating $$$$ MONEY from Advertising. (and The City gets a cut from these Profits). Installing WiFi in these kiosks was just a way to con people into thinking the kiosks were enriching our Quality of Life (and the kiosks allowed the old telephone booths electrical wiring to be re-purposed for Digital Advertising). Supposedly, these kiosks were to ‘help’ tourists… not many tourists travel past 96th Street. These Underserved Areas will have their street corners turned into The Vegas Strip.
Most of the people actually using the WiFi at these kiosks/ towers are homeless people camping around the bases of the kiosks – for hours. Most other people avoid hanging around these kiosks, avoid using the WiFi, because of the potential for being a target of crime.
The WiFi Towers are just an Excuse to PUT MORE DIGITAL ADVERTISING ON THE STREETS !
Of course all that radiation is harmful to human health. I would look at research from entities other than cell phone companies! https://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancer-causes/radiation-exposure/cellular-phone-towers.html
Do you Truthers even read the supposed “truth” you cite and link to? Here’s the ACS’s conclusion in your citation:
“Some people have expressed concern that living, working, or going to school near a cell phone tower might increase the risk of cancer or other health problems. At this time, there isn’t a lot of evidence to support this idea.”