Trio Of Wash Heights, Inwood Blocks May Get Massive 5G Towers: City

UPPER MANHATTAN, NY — A trio of street corners in Washington Heights and Inwood may soon be home to giant 5G transmitting poles as the city aims to expand internet access across the five boroughs.

The 32-foot-tall 5G poles are part of LinkNYC, a program that seeks to "bridge the digital divide" by introducing high-speed internet service around the city — especially in underserved neighborhoods with low rates of broadband access.

But some neighborhoods have pushed back against the towers, objecting to their sheer size and aesthetic impact on the streetscape.

As Patch reported earlier this month, a public list maintained by the city shows the dozens of sites where the Office of Technology and Innovation is eyeing new 5G towers, including three spots in Upper Manhattan.

Here are those locations.

• 689 Fort Washington Ave. (Near West 190th Street)
• 727 Fort Washington Ave. (In front of the Jacob Javits Playground)
• 11 Nagle Ave. (Near Hillside Avenue)

All three sites have public comment periods that will end on Jan. 16, according to the city's list. The exact timeline for installing them is unclear, though it could be relatively soon — in a November letter to an Upper East Side community board, the city said it would "proceed with installation" with that neighborhood's 5G poles if it did not receive feedback by mid-January 2023.

Upper Manhattan's Community Board 12 did not respond to Patch's request for comment about whether it has discussed the incoming poles.

There are also many more likely to follow: the city has said it aims to deploy 2,000 of the towers in the coming years, focusing on the outer boroughs and Manhattan north of 96th Street.

Similar to the first-generation LinkNYC kiosks, the 5G towers will provide access to free Wi-Fi, USB charging, nationwide calling, and 911 and 311, with some also including digital advertising screens.

"We believe that digital connectivity is a human right, necessary to fully participate and access opportunities in modern society," OTI spokesperson Ray Legendre said this month.

Roughly 16 to 21 percent of households in Washington Heights and Inwood lack internet access, according to a 2020 city report.

The city's partner in LinkNYC is the private consortium CityBridge, which has been beset by problems since not long after the program's inception. Last year, the city amended its contract with CityBridge to require that 90 percent of 5G poles be built in under-served neighborhoods, after New Yorkers decried the fact that many LinkNYC kiosks had yet to be activated in the areas that needed the most.

Telecom companies may pay CityBridge to put their equipment inside the poles, while everyday New Yorkers will need to already be paying for a mobile plan that includes 5G in order to connect to one, according to THE CITY. (Wi-Fi will remain free, however.)

The new 5G poles began their citywide rollout earlier this year, with Mayor Eric Adams unveiling one of the first such towers in the Bronx in July.

Patch reporter Nick Garber contributed to this report.