Ridgewood Residents Push Back Against Verizon Antenna Atop Neighborhood Church
RIDGEWOOD, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- There was controversy on Tuesday, over a proposal to put a cell phone antenna next to a church cross in one New Jersey neighborhood.
The Village of Ridgewood is considering a proposal by Verizon Wireless to place a 2-foot-tall cell phone antenna on top of a tower that also holds a church cross. The 15-inch diameter antenna would improve cell phone reception in the area.
Verizon Wireless is trying to make up for a gap in coverage, but CBS2 could not find anyone who has independently verified that the spot would be the best one to reach homes.
As CBS2's Hazel Sanchez reported, some neighbors don't want it there.
"I will do my best to fight this," Hina Bavishi said, "Definitely see my property price going to be down, and so I'm concerned about it."
Stacey Bradford claims the proposed antenna would ruin her picturesque neighborhood.
"I don't like the fact that I can see the tower from my bedroom window. I don't like that there will be additional equipment and generators on top of a roof-line in a residential area," she said.
Verizon said they would put a "stealthing box" around the antenna to help hide it from view, but some residents say it's no consolation.
"I don't think that's appropriate for people that are religious," Heather Kimball said.
West Side Presbyterian's treasurer, James Cella, said the church volunteered as a possible antenna site.
The church has been struggling since a 2002 fire and Cella said Verizon would pay $650 a month for their service.
"We don't want them to give permission for any entity, whether it's a church or a company, to put an antenna on their building just to get money. We want it to be put in the smartest most efficient places," Bradford said.
The village zoning board will decide if the antenna will go up. They will listen to more testimony when they meet again in January.
Verizon said the church is the tallest structure in the area for the antenna.
CBS2 reached out to the acting mayor, but he did not respond to a request for comment.
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