The tallest structure in East Hampton Town, a 352-foot tower near the intersection of Abraham’s Path and Springs-Fireplace Road, could soon be removed, and there are no plans right now to replace it.
Brandon Gabbard, a building inspector for the town, confirmed this week that a building permit had been issued to Sammons Communications Inc. on April 18 to decommission and remove the structure. A previously issued permit had expired. (Cablevision bought Sammons Communications in the 1990s, so it is not clear why Sammons is still listed on the building permit.)
The tower was originally constructed in the late 1960s and since 1987 has been owned by Cablevision, which was sold to Altice USA about a decade ago. It was used for cable television transmission, cellular service, and most recently as the antenna for WEHM Radio. However, WEHM moved to an antenna at the Montauk recycling center when talk of removing the tower began.
“Historically, it was used by various wireless providers in the area, though the tower’s wireless tenants vacated years ago,” said Raffaella Mazzella, a
communications manager with Optimum. “The structure has become outdated, and with the lack of active use, it no longer plays a role in providing cellular coverage to users in the area. The decommissioning of this tower will have no impact on cellular services in the area.” She added that Optimum would soon upgrade over 400 Wi-Fi hotspots in the Hamptons.
Indeed, Eddie Schnell, the communications technician for the town’s Police Department, said the cable giant had kicked other users off the tower when it was considering starting its own cellular company, before it was sold to Altice.
“AT&T and Verizon were on that tower but they moved to the stealth monopole at the East Hampton Town dump,” he said in a phone call. “The tower is just sitting there doing nothing now. I hope they get it done before it falls over. Usually if someone wants to remove a tower there’s a reason.” Mr. Schnell said the tower was too close to the tower at Town Hall to help with emergency communications.
“We had discussions with them years ago about co-locating wireless companies there,” confirmed Eric Schantz, a principal planner with the town’s Planning Department. “They didn’t want competitors on their tower.” He said the cable company owns the land.
Joe Conway, the operations manager at the Mikab Corporation, is tasked with the removal. When reached over the phone he explained it is a “lattice guyed” tower, a type no longer in common use. “It has cables coming off of it, every 120 degrees, that keep it straight,” he said. “We don’t know how we’re going to take down the tower,” he continued. “When we’re ready, we’ll present a plan to the town.” He wouldn’t offer a timeline but indicated summer may not be the best time to do the work.
Ms. Mazzella also had no specific guidance. “We cannot provide a specific timeline for the tower’s removal at this time. Optimum teams are actively working to develop a plan and complete next steps as quickly as possible,” she wrote.
“The only issue is that there are wetlands nearby,” said Mr. Schantz. “There are concrete footings that are near and in the wetlands. They’re proposing to abandon the footings, which means they won’t need a natural resources special permit to do the removal. A concrete footing isn’t doing anything. It would be more of a disturbance to the wetlands to remove it. They told us they’d be sending no machines, just people, and that there would be minimal disturbance.”
“The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has not received any freshwater wetlands permit applications for work at this site,” a spokesperson said Tuesday. “The wetlands near the intersection of Abraham’s Path and Springs-Fireplace Road are regulated by D.E.C.”
Towers are generally controversial and generate lots of public comment when installation is contemplated. For example, a 150-foot communications monopole at the Springs Fire Department has been a political football and a source of neighborhood consternation for years.
In a sign of how much technology has shifted in the 60 years since the Cablevision tower was first built, just three weeks ago the town board discussed installing nearly 200 “small cell” towers that will stand over 300 feet shorter than the dinosaur on Springs-Fireplace Road.
When that tower finally does come down, the crown for the tallest structure in the town will move to a 280-foot lattice tower near the Art Barge on Napeague.
