Former New York Knicks star John Starks is infuriated that New York City Mayor Eric Adams approved the installation of a 32-foot, 5G cellphone tower in front of the star's Kia dealership in Queens, the New York Post reported.
The tower, which was signed off by the Adams administration, blocks the view of Starks' name on the dealership from across the street and the "eyesore" has prompted him to register a complaint with Queens Borough President Donovan Richards. Starks claims the city did not give him notice before erecting the tower, which is located about 10 feet from the front of his dealership.
This is one of 2,000 Link 5G street towers to be installed across the city as part of the Office of Technology and Innovation's effort to bolster service, and while Richards said he supports the Wi-Fi-expansion program, the city erred in communication siting of the tower in front of Stark's dealership.
"Unless the city plans to install a hoop 10 feet up on the tower and fly Michael Jordan to Sunnyside so John Starks can dunk on him again, moving this pole is a small but important victory for transparency," Richards told the Post.
"We appreciate the investment in expanding high-speed internet service across the borough, but just as Starks’ Knicks teams did from its front office, Queens deserves clear communication from the city ahead of any such installation when it comes to location — especially as residents have to pay for the 5G service these towers offer."
In a statement, Damien Corbett, the manager at the John Starks Kia dealership, confirmed the Knicks star was upset about the placement of the tower.
"Basically one of the things is where it's located right now is it's in front of our dealership and blocks our sign, the signage of it. It's not that we are not in support of free Wi-Fi, but where they have it located is a problem," Corbett said.
"The location right in front of our front door is the difficult part of it. … It doesn’t serve anyone well. We weren’t made aware of it in any shape, form or fashion until the day they came and said, 'We are putting up a Wi-Fi tower here.'"
In response to the complaint, Ray Legendre, spokesman for the Office of Technology and Innovation, said the city planned to "work with John Starks to minimize the impact to his business while ensuring this Link5G benefits the surrounding community."
Further, the Office of Technology stated it followed the correct procedure of notifying elected officials and community stakeholders of its proposed location prior to installing the Link5G’s tower installment at the Starks’ Kia dealership, and held a 60-day public comment period.
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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