RyeCity REVIEW THE
January 26, 2018 | Vol. 6, Number 4 | www.ryecityreview.com
Crown Castle files another suit in state court By JAMES PERO Staff Writer
OPPORTUNITY OF A LIFETIME
In February 2017, “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” gave 41 students four-year scholarships to college. One of those students is Quincy Phillips, who now attends SUNY Purchase College where he is pursuing a degree in visual arts. For story, see page 6. Photo courtesy Michael Rozman
Dems look to revive gun, immigration bills By JAMES PERO Staff Writer Under a new Democratic regime, legislators will reincarnate two vetoed bills, including a piece of controversial gun legislation, that were nixed under former County Executive Rob Astorino, a Republican. The legislative agenda on Jan. 22 will feature the reintroduction of a bill to ban gun shows on county owned property that was vetoed by Astorino last year, after being passed by Democrats on the Board of Legislators. Specifically, the bill seeks to eliminate the possibility of
hosting gun shows at the Westchester County Center, which Democrats say promotes a toxic gun culture in the county. While current County Executive George Latimer, a Democrat, has already signed an executive order banning the gun shows—a reinstatement of a previous ban that lapsed under Astorino—unlike the order, the passage of a more formal piece of legislation would permanently ban the shows in the future. In tandem with a bill to ban gun shows, Democrats will also reintroduce a county immigration bill that would limit the amount of information that the county shares with the federal
government. This bill was also introduced and passed last year, but was eventually vetoed by Astorino who said it would hamper the efforts of county law enforcement. Both bills are being revisited by a new Democratic majority with an extra advantage of three seats over last year’s Board of Legislators makeup. Currently, Democrats outnumber Republicans 12-5, giving them a supermajority, in addition to the support of Latimer, who unseated Astorino in November last year. In addition to both bills, Democrats will also push two bills that expand paid sick leave countywide—companies with five
or more employees would be required to provide at least 40 hours of paid sick leave—as well as a bill that would ban employers in the county from asking how much prospective employees made at a previous job. These bills will mark the start of a reinvigorated progressive agenda from Latimer and the Board of Legislators, who recently elected a new majority leader, Ben Boykin, a White Plains Democrat, to replace the previous chair, Michael Kaplowitz, a Yorktown Democrat, in a divisive nomination process. CONTACT: james@hometwn.com
The telecom contractor Crown Castle has reignited a lawsuit with the city of Rye, claiming that a city-run environmental review process of a proposal to install wireless infrastructure across the city has violated an agreement signed in 2011, in addition to a state law. “Despite that the city consented back in 2011 to [Crown Castle’s] right to deploy its infrastructure in the Rye [right of way], and allowed [Crown Castle] to do so in other areas of the city… [Rye] has disregarded that consent and blocked [Crown Castle’s] efforts to install this important utility infrastructure,” reads Crown Castle’s lawsuit, which was filed in a state court on Jan. 8. Specifically, the lawsuit contends that an agreement signed between Crown Castle and Rye in 2011 gives the right to alter infrastructure that falls within the “right of way”—a term that encompasses the areas containing city telephone poles, many of which are located just outside of residences—in addition to areas outside this designation, subject to a permit review process. Additionally, Crown Castle claims that the city has “weaponized” a State Environmental Quality Review Act, SEQR—the statute by which the city is currently reviewing the proposal— against the telecom contractor. A previous federal ruling sent down in December, however, sided in favor of the city over its decision
to review the proposal under the lens of SEQR. Rye City Attorney Kristen Wilson said that while the most recent lawsuit is fairly similar to one filed in federal court, there are a few differences. “It’s longer and more detailed… and it is more focused on the [2011] agreement, but the causes of action are similar,” she said. In April 2017, the city voted to undergo an environmental review of the project—which aims to install more than 70 wireless nodes citywide—under the lens of SEQR after issuing a positive determination for the project. Among other things, the review will look at the pending applications’ effects on neighborhood aesthetics, noise, and the environment. Specifically, residents opposed to Crown Castle’s installation of dozens of nodes—wireless signal-emitters that would be primarily attached to telephone poles—have shown concern for what impact they may have on property values. Opponents contend that large equipment attached to telephone poles, many of which abutt residential neighborhoods, would disturb the character of the neighborhood. Conversely, Crown Castle claims that by not bolstering its wireless infrastructure—the company is being contracted to do so by Verizon Wireless—it is harming residents’ access to current and future networks. According to Wilson, while a SUIT continued on page 8
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