TELL VERIZON "NO" MEANS "NO!"
The effort to site a six story cell tower on Portland - across the street from this church - has once again arisen, zombie-like. Verizon’s special permit was denied by the City Planning Commission (CPC) last August, then again (in slightly altered form) on March 30th. This should have been the end of the matter, unless Verizon went to the trouble of making an appeal to a federal court with a claim that denying their special permit for their preferred location (in an under-resourced neighborhood where they were able to get a speculating landowner to do a deal) “effectively prohibits” them from providing cell service to the entire area, which is against federal law. They have not made a federal appeal.
Instead, after the vote to deny the Special Permit at its March 30th meeting, a city lawyer asked our local CPC to vote on a determination that the denial constitutes “Effective Prohibition” of service, despite the fact that this local board has no jurisdiction in federal telecommunications decisions and this is not the correct legal route. When this vote failed, he placed the same question on the agenda for their next meeting.
The City Planning Commission's authority is bound by the zoning code. When reviewing an application for a cell tower, they also review the standards for “Effective Prohibition of Service.” but only as a defensive measure against a lawsuit. They make findings regarding whether the applicant presented evidence proving they had a gap in service (need) and that their proposed tower and technology is the only possible means of filling that gap. This places the CPC consideration on the record so if the applicant takes their denied permit to federal court with a claim that the city is prohibiting their service, the city shows they did due diligence by considering it. It is likely that Verizon did not do so after the first denial, back in August, because they knew they could not make a case in Federal court that the place they chose (and bought a lease in 2024 in expectation of a successful Special Permit application) is the only one possible.
Keep in mind that in this case the Special Permit request was for construction of a 6-story cell tower in a densely populated 2-story residential neighborhood, across the street from a place of worship, in a neighborhood that is deeply under-resourced, one of the poorest in the country, by a wealthy corporation that will use it to make yet more money, likely without benefit to the neighborhood where it is sited. And in this case, the city's announcement of the denial last week was followed by this:
“On March 30, 2026, the City Planning Commission (CPC) conducted a public hearing and deliberated upon the issue of whether the CPC's denial of a Special Permit for the Project would "have the effect of prohibiting the provision of personal wireless services," also known as an Effective Prohibition, which is prohibited by the federal Telecommunications Act of 1996 (47 U.S.C. § 332(c)(7)(B)(i)(ll)). The hearing and deliberations on whether the Project should be approved on the basis of Effective Prohibition culminated in a vote of 3-2, failing to receive four concurring votes for approval or denial. Pursuant to City Zoning Code §120-1840(1)(a), the concurring vote of four members shall be necessary for any action by the CPC.
Therefore, pursuant to §120-184G(4)(b) and due to the fact that the hearing culminated in no decision and the time period for rendering a decision has not expired, the public hearing on Verizon's application for approval of the Project on the basis of Effective Prohibition will be placed on the agenda of the CPC's next available public hearing date, which is May 18, 2026.”
City Zoning Code §120-1840(1)(a) permits the CPC to determine that some overwhelming public need overrides the usual 5 criteria for a Special Permit, so that the permit can be granted even though it fails one or more of those criteria. It does not authorize the Rochester CPC to make determinations regarding Federal Communications law. In other words, the City of Rochester is following up their own Planning Commission’s two denials of Verizon’s request to build a cell tower in a densely populated residential-zoned area by allowing Verizon's corporate lawyers the opportunity to convince them to make a decision for which they have no legal grounds, which would then be used to say that therefore the Special Permit MUST be granted, despite the egregious way in which it violates the criteria the board correctly applied in making their two decisions to deny. This is the first time such a direct request has been made of the CPC - but if we don't call it out now, it could be used as precedent for others.
We need to stop this brazen attempt to subvert correct zoning practice before it goes any further. Want to help fight against this exploitation of the Portland/Oneida area neighborhood for Verizon’s corporate profit?
Click to email [email protected] for details on our ZPAC planning meeting next Monday, 5/4/26.
SCOTUS FAILS ELDER JUSTICE
As some of you know, during the pandemic Ken Traub and I, as co-chairs of Elder Justice Committee, on behalf of Elder Justice Committee and the community at large, repeatedly asked the Cuomo administration and the DOH to share with the public the real actual number of nursing home residents, by nursing home, that died from COVID. They refused.
We wanted accountability, and facts to inform public policy. We knew there were systemic problems with staffing levels and infection policies and procedures that were contributing to the deaths and that sending COVID patients to nursing homes was a terrible decision. When the Attorney General's report (click here to read) came out in January 2021 there was a public AHA moment which contributed to a reckoning with the facts and subsequent new NYS nursing home Laws. And where are we now, in 2026?
Click here to read Matt Green's report for WRGB Albany on the Supreme Court's decision this month declining "to hear a case holding Former Governor Cuomo's administration and the Greater New York Hospital Association responsible for thousands of deaths in New York nursing homes."
Elder Justice Committee is committed to demanding quality care in nursing homes and adherence to regulations and laws that afford residents their health, safety, well-being and dignity.
We are still looking for, and still demanding enforcement of the key laws passed in 2021. However, it takes a village to achieve our goals.
Please join us for our next meeting May 21 at 1:00 as we continue our work. Click here to RSVP.
MaryDel Wypych, Chair
Elder Justice Committee of Metro Justice
UPCOMING EVENTS
Check out our new Event Calendar!
It includes all of the events listed below, but in a regular calendar format.
Monday, April 27, 7-8 pm Tonight is the zoom meeting of the Western NY Hub for the Campaign for NY Health working to pass universal healthcare in New York state. We need this now more than ever! And legislators now privately agree - they just need our political backing to fight down the insurance lobby and bring it to a vote. Exciting new information on the campaign will be shared tonight!
Wednesday, April 29, 6 pm Metro Justice office Rochester for Energy Democracy (RED) organizing meeting
Thursday, April 30, 5:30–7:30 pm Irondequoit Public Library (First floor, Room 113) Community Workshop: Build a Better Irondequoit Advocating for More Housing Options and Dealing with the Housing Crisis in Irondequoit - how to create inclusive attainable housing. The session builds on previous workshops regarding the history of racially restrictive covenants in Irondequoit, but the main focus is on taking practical action today. And free pizza!
Friday, May 1, 5:30-7 pm Washington Square Park, 10 St. Mary’s Pl., May Day Rally: Workers Over Billionaires Join the Rochester Labor Council for our annual May Day Celebration!
Saturday, May 2, noon-3:30 Metro Justice office ICE Safety Canvass Day Join us as we launch a canvassing program to keep each other safe from ICE! We will be canvassing businesses to inform neighbors of their rights and create sanctuary communities at the hyper-local level. A training and snacks will be provided at the Metro Justice Office before we hit the road.
Monday, May 4, 3:30 pm Planning meeting for the Zoning and Permitting Accountability Coalition's fight to keep a few individuals from overturning the City Planning Commission's denial of Verizon's Special Permit application to build the cell tower on Portland and Oneida. Location is still TBD, but the meeting will be hybrid on zoom. Email [email protected] for the zoom link and and other meeting info.
Saturday, May 9, 5-8 pm Metro Justice Annual Dinner AFSCME Hall, 1956 Lyell Ave (just east of 390 Lyell Ave. exit). Our Annual Dinners have for many years been a mainstay of our annual fundraising, supporting our outreach and organizing work. Please use the link to sign up for tickets today, so that our fundraising volunteers are not madly scrambling to keep up with tickets and tables at the last minute. Thank you!
Monday, May 18, 4:30 pm at City Hall, 30 Church Street Zoning and Permitting Accountability Coalition press conference highlighting attempt to hijack City Planning Committee decision on Portland Ave. cell tower, followed by CPC meeting at 5 and hearing at 6. Final planning still under way, with an
Thursday, May 21, 1-2:30 pm Henrietta Public Library and on zoom, Elder Justice Committee monthly meeting
DESKTOP ACTIONS
Ongoing
Demand Progress invites us to sign their petition urging Congress to block Paramount's deal to buy Warner Brothers. The merger violates antitrust laws, would hurt consumers and artists, and poses serious ethical concerns, including allowing Trump and allies to increase their control of news media.
With student loans now being moved from the Department of Education to the Treasury Department, the system is clearly in transition. Borrowers shouldn’t pay the price for that chaos. Sign the petition demanding an immediate payment pause so the government can get this right and put Americans first.
The League of Women Voters invites us to sign their petition to our federal representatives telling them to reject additional funding for ICE; investigate ICE, CBP, and the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS's) use of force; impose additional DHS guardrails and accountability measures on immigration enforcement; and take steps to protect the constitutional rights of civilians to peacefully protest and assemble without having their lives threatened or taken.
Add your name to the letter to New York Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie to bring the Packaging Reduction & Recycling Infrastructure Act to a vote! This Act would greatly reduce the amount of single-use packaging that we pay for - in money, health and climate. Our goal is 10,000 letters sent; 1,669 sent as of 3/31/2026.
Help end federal violence against Cayuga Nation in central NY: information link and gofundme link ($6,405 raised of $9,000 goal as of 3/31/26)
Tell Governor Hochul to pass NY4All with this one-click email tool. And call her office regularly at (518) 474-8390. NY4All would prohibit both formal and informal collusion between local police and ICE/CBP in perpetuity. Hochul has proposed her own legislation which only covers formal collusion for the next 3 years: Hochul’s proposal is weak and irrelevant, New York must pass NY4All into law. (2,278 messages sent of 3,000 goal as of 3/31/26)
The Campaign for New York Health is doing ongoing work with collaborators to push for passage of the New York Health Act, the best response our state could make to the disastrous healthcare cuts by the Trump administration. Sign our petition to legislative leadership here, and use this tool to email your Senator and Assemblymember.
Do you know where your birth certificate is? Three voter suppression bills (the SAVE Act) in the federal House and Senate would force Americans to present a passport, birth certificate, or other citizenship papers in order to register to vote in federal elections, and are clearly designed to deter millions of people from casting their ballot in our democracy. Click here to thank your Democratic senators for holding the line, and encourage them to continue, or encourage Republicans to rethink their support.
LEARN MORE
Rochester Gardeners Resource Guide Tis the season! This info-packed guide includes items about free soil testing for home gardeners and other resources available to beginners and experienced gardeners alike! Gardening has been done in our soil for thousands of years. Today, it is a revolutionary practice.