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Q&A
Council Member Holden questions OTI on Citybridge's community engagement for Link NYC and 5G tower placement
1:50:10
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165 sec
Council Member Robert F. Holden inquires about Citybridge's engagement with community boards regarding the placement of Link NYC kiosks and 5G link towers. Brett Sikoff from the Office of Technology and Innovation (OTI) explains the extensive community engagement process and how feedback is incorporated into siting decisions.
- OTI and Citybridge follow a 60-day process for community engagement, including outreach to council members, community boards, and other local entities.
- Substantive community feedback can lead to modifications or relocation of proposed sites.
- Historical preservation reviews and compliance with siting criteria are key factors in site approval.
Robert F. Holden
1:50:10
Thank you.
1:50:11
Just a follow-up question on Citybridge.
1:50:14
Does Citybridge engage with community boards regarding the placement and installation of Link NYC kiosk and five g link towers?
Brett Sikoff
1:50:25
Yeah, thanks, council member.
1:50:26
So we, OTI, working with CityBridge.
1:50:29
CityBridge identifies sites that work for them from a business perspective, where there's a five gs need, where there's a wireless need, where they can bring fiber to, where the site may fit within the very extensive siting criteria that our franchise agreement requires them to fit within.
1:50:46
And then, OTI undertakes a very substantial community engagement role.
1:50:51
So we have a sixty day process by which we reach out to council members, to community boards, borough presidents, bids, seeking comment from those entities and from their constituents.
1:51:04
It's during that process that we routinely attend community board meetings, meet with members, and then we ultimately try to address any concerns that we have regarding siting of kiosks.
1:51:18
After that process, if there's no issues and the site passes the compliance review, it passes the state historical preservation review, which is another requirement, We then issue a notice to proceed to the franchisee.
1:51:32
Once that notice to proceed is issued, the company can get permits to start building, then we do another round of outreach to the communities, to all those entities to let them know, hey, the site was approved and construction is about to begin.
Robert F. Holden
1:51:44
So have there been examples when it wasn't installed because the community board objected or the homeowners or
Brett Sikoff
1:51:54
So where there's substantive, you know, in terms of like, it's hard to say, there haven't been many cases where we've relocated a site based on community feedback, where there's something that we just wouldn't know from not living there.
1:52:11
If someone has been living for forty years on that block knows that there is a particular building.
1:52:17
I'll give you the example.
1:52:18
There was case where there's a medical clinic where folks hang out after going to the medical clinic, and they hang out near the lake.
1:52:26
That's an example of some feedback that's substantive that we can take back to the provider and say, hey, maybe pick another site, or see if you can provide the coverage objectives by going across the street or around the corner, because we don't want to add.
Robert F. Holden
1:52:39
Yeah, so there could be modifications or
Brett Sikoff
1:52:42
But generally, if it doesn't comply with the citing criteria or it doesn't pass the historical review, those are the ones that that would trigger a new site to be selected.
Robert F. Holden
1:52:52
Great.
1:52:53
Thank you.
1:52:53
Thank you, chair.