Hillsdale Cell Tower Project Won't Increase Height

A planned project for a cell phone tower on the Parkway in Hillsdale will replace existing antennas and not increase the size of the tower or number of carriers it holds, as some residents had expressed concern about.

The tower is located at mile 168.2 on the Garden State Parkway, next to the Hillsdale Avenue bridge which crosses the highway.

Borough officials discussed the project at a meeting earlier this month after they received a letter from an engineering firm about the plan, but council members said they didn't really understand the proposal.

Some residents said they were concerned about possible additions to the tower because Hillsdale does not have authority over it. The tower is on the Parkway's land and falls under the New Jersey Turnpike Authority's jurisdiction.

"We have no say on anything that goes on in the Parkway," Mayor Max Arnowitz said.

AT&T, which owns the tower, is planning to replace the antennas, according to Turnpike Authority rep Thomas Feeney. The tower is not being expanded and won’t be any taller or have new cell service carriers added, he said.

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