Welcome to our organizing blog to oppose the Verizon Cell Antenna Cluster at 960 Arlington Avenue! We are Deborah Yaffe and Greg Henricks, and Scott Holderby, all of whom live within 300 feet of the proposed cell facility and we've taken the lead in organizing our neighborhood to oppose this invasion. Please check out our resources list on the right panel for more information, and Sign our Petition - link is to the right, and help out if you can. There's an option on the petition at bottom to volunteer. Please know that if you choose to leave your contact information (other than your address) we will never ever share it with anyone, ever. Also know that we will be posting online a list of your names and addresses once you've signed online, and we will be forwarding these lists of names to the key decision makers at Verizon, at City Planning, and to the owner of 960 Arlington Avenue.
This blog is a work in progress, so bear with us, and thanks for visiting!
Some of the reasons we oppose this project, and why you should too, even if you don't live in the immediate neighborhood:
This blog is a work in progress, so bear with us, and thanks for visiting!
Some of the reasons we oppose this project, and why you should too, even if you don't live in the immediate neighborhood:
1. The City failed to notify neighbors in a timely manner. Neighbors within 300 feet of the project site did not receive an initial notice, as required by the City of Oakland Planning Department. Verizon and the City have been in the planning process for this project since at least October 6, 2014, yet most of us were first made aware of the project when the Public Notice was posted outside the building on or around March 1st, 2015. The Public Notice also said the plan was on the Planning Commission Consent calendar for March 18th! Our community was neither informed nor did we give our consent! We were denied the time necessary to educate ourselves and understand what this could mean for our neighborhood. Our community has the right to determine if this sizable cell antenna facility is compatible with our neighborhood, and for that we require time. Since then we've made waves with the City and Verizon and got the Planning Commission meeting postponed until April 15th, had a well-attended community meeting with a Verizon representative on April 1st, and the plan was taken off the consent calendar yet again when we found a critical error in the City's Plan for the cell installation. The meeting has been re-scheduled for May 6th. Given how late in the planning process the community was informed, we had asked the Planning Commission and Verizon for more time, until June 15th, to review critical documents and harness a response, which they denied.
2. Health concerns. There are health risks from low level radiation. Dr Joel Moskowitz, UC Berkeley professor and researcher at The School for Public Health states, “ the proliferation of wireless radiation is producing major health consequences for our society.” Please check out Dr. Moskowitz' excellent EMR Safety website saferemr.com. The Center for Disease Control states that, according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer, Radio Frequencies have been classified as a “possible human carcinogen.” http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/radiation/cell_phones_FAQ.html. Late last March the LA Board of Supervisors, in Support of the LA Firefighters Union, halted the planned construction of cell antennas that the City wanted built on some 77 Fire Stations. The Firefighters, already subject to the carcinogenic substances they encounter in their work, were unwilling to accept the additional risk of negative biological effects that EMR-emitting cell antennas posed. Also, the California Medical Association, (CMA), recently adopted a resolution that calls for a re-evaluation of the safety standards for wireless communications in the U.S.
3. Decreased home values. Research shows home values drop between 4-20% where cell tow-ers are installed in residential areas. NYTimes, “A Pushback Against Cell Towers” by M Fischler 8/27/10, and, “The effect of distance to cell phone towers on house prices”, by Sandy Bond, Appraisal Journal, Fall 2007.
4. Increased noise levels. The plan includes two large roof top generators and cooling system which will add an increase in noise levels in our neighborhood. Verizon will also have 24/7 access to the building posing additional noise and nuisance problems from trucks and maintenance.
5. Fire and safety risks. All generators are fire and/or explosive risks. Diesel and propane fuel emissions are known carcinogens. The plan indicates their location is 25 feet from the closest residence and 100 feet or less from several other residences.
We have the Right and the Power to Protect Our Neighborhoods From Electro-Magnetic Frequencies
Sign the petition, get more information and volunteer! We will be having an upcoming community meeting, a planning commission meeting, and other events. Stay tuned! Together we have the power to protect our neighborhoods.
We all have the right to live in a safe community. Until it can be unequivocally stated that cell antennas are safe for people and animals we do not want them in our residential neighborhoods. Using the precautionary principle, the public must be protected from exposure to harm when scientific investigation has found a plausible risk
