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September 4, 2007
Telephone & Cable Wires Everywhere!
Like many townhouses in Park Slope, the back of my building has thick black phone and TV cables running across the back façade a few feet under the 2nd floor windows. The cables run across the back of every house on our block.
My question is: can a homeowner request or demand that these cables be rerouted? There are other cables that run along poles in the the lot lines between the backyards of the homes on our block.
Do the cable and phone companies enjoy some special easement or "right of way" that allows them to run these ugly wires across the backs of our homes?
Thanks for any insight. I searched the forum, but to no avail.
Comments
they aren't the cables going in to your home?
Posted by: guest at September 4, 2007 7:16 PM
I have this problem at my house. One day a box appeared form the cable company with no notice that it was going up. Forget the cables as you will never find anyone who has any knowledge or can help you with the problem. It will be an exercise in frustration.
Posted by: guest at September 5, 2007 8:31 AM
There are two utilities presently. Time Warner Cable and the "phone company" Verizon? Do the lines need cleaning up? If you trace the lines in question the thicker ones being your cable service, you may be able to call the specific company to organize them better. I called several times and got very little help. Best bet is to do it your self with some plastic ties to group things better. Or you could yank them out of the box and then someone will come out to make the repair. Thats a good time to ask them to move things for you.
Posted by: guest at September 5, 2007 10:17 AM
IIRC, when Cablevision attempted to wire Lefferts Manor they sent form letters telling homeowners that they could not refuse to have wires attached to there houses because they couldn't deny cable to their tenents. This really pissed off people here who are proud of our single-familt covenant. Next, Cablevision installers showed up un-announced and started sloppily tacking wires to the backs of houses, as described by the OP. On my block, one of my neighbors chased them off with a rake.
I was the liason person between the Lefferts Manor Assoc. and Cablevision. We tried to reach a compromise, but eventually the Cablevision representative stopped returning my calls. To this day, most Lefferts Manor blocks (other than the few with telephone poles) remain without cable since, if even one homeowner of a SINGLE Family house refuses to be wired they will not wire the block. I doubt that Cablevision will ever attempt to run wires again because almost everyone has Direct TV or Dish Network.
So, if you own a one family house, AFAIK you can refuse to have wires run (although this may not make you popular with your neighbors). I don't know if you can demand that existing wires run on the back of your house be removed (which, if possible, would REALLY anger your neighbors, who would lose cable service. AFAIK, if you own a multiple dwelling you have little or no control over cable wires. Also, Park Slope has service from a different cable carrier that might be better than Cablevision--they could hardly be worse :-)
Posted by: Bob Marvin at September 5, 2007 10:48 AM
Thanks for all of your comments. It seems like this is a common problem with, unfortunately, no real answer/solution.
My house is a single-family (no tenants) but not sure that makes a difference since the wires are already installed.
I'm going to call Verizon/Time Warner and will report any findings but I'm not hopeful. I might resort to cutting wires and getting rake ready to chase off re-installers per above post (kidding).
Posted by: Mr Joist at September 5, 2007 11:26 AM
Join the club Verizon claims they have an easement to run cables on my property, the person who gave them the easement never owned the property just opened the gate to the vacant lot so they can get access. After several calls and no results wires will be broken by accident.
Posted by: guest at September 5, 2007 12:16 PM
My understanding is that all easements should be recorded in the clerk's office along wiht other records like the deeds, mortgages, etc. Otherwise, the utility does not have an easement (which runs with the property and thus a new owner is stuck with it) but instead (at best) a license that can be revoked, usually at will.
The above may not be true (but it might be, I am not a property lawyer) if their is some official law or legal rulemaking granting the utility an easement, but in that case the city or the public utility is required to ocmpensate the owner of the property for the permanent taking that occurs.
Even if the owner has a right to yank the lines down, it would be wise to think twice about it. Ohter people may be depending upon those cables for various services, so the golden rule might apply.
Posted by: guest at September 5, 2007 3:55 PM
After 4 months of repeated calls and complaining (following numerous outages) I was able to get Time Warner to clean up all the loose cables at the back of our building. We are an 8 family cooperative. The trick was to ask for and demand an additional "tap" box so splitters could be eliminated.
I was promised a weather proof box to contain all the connections, they brought the wrong sized equipment, and have since refused to return my calls. I dealt with a construction supervisor not the nerds at the business office.
I guess I should be thankful we got the major mess cleaned up and reception has been generally fine since.
Marion
Posted by: guest at September 5, 2007 3:55 PM
They don't give rat’s ass unless it affects their service which then translates into unhappy customers.
If the next upcoming storm accidentally broke the wires ;) then they have come to come out and fix it. Have them reroute it since they will be laying out new wires or do not give access.
When I purchased my house, I had a similar cosmetic problem. The wires were at the lot line but then shot across my yard into parlor level. Like clothes lines. I ran pvc from the top of the fence, under the ground, and into the cellar. then ran tele and cable wires through the pvc into house.
clean look for the house and yard.
Posted by: guest at September 5, 2007 6:25 PM
ummm... I work for Verizon as an outside technician and I might have some news for you... bad news. If you look at your deed you will probably find a rider on it if Verizon has a box on your house. Someone who owned the property in the past was paid by Verizon, or more likely NYTEL, to let them put the box up and run the wires and the rider is now a part of the property. If that is not the case you can ask Verizon to come make the wires into a neater formation and they will send someone like me out. good luck!
Posted by: guest at September 5, 2007 8:31 PM
They need to have an easement to run the lines. The bell troll is right - check the deed. If you don't find anything, cut the lines - then they'll have to deal with it, because that's the only way they will.
Posted by: guest at September 5, 2007 11:07 PM
Excellent advice to cut utility lines without a permit, not dangerous at all. Real estate blogs like this really provide terrific and safe advice!
Posted by: guest at September 6, 2007 4:15 AM
The above poster is absolutely correct. It wasn't the few volts maximum that run on the cable and telephone lines being discussed, but rather the fact that they were rebroadcasting a live AC/DC concert on Time Warner Cable at the moment the lines were cut.... Horrible, tragic accident!
Posted by: guest at September 6, 2007 12:46 PM
LOL...I'm glad someone caught that one. Nice touch with the AC/DC concert. douché!
Posted by: guest at September 6, 2007 3:08 PM
WIth most of these comapanies reasonable means never work. I cut the lines behind my house and made them rerun them. I don't have 4 months and a hundred hours of time to wait on the phone. Besides, the last time Verizon wanted to work on the line behind our place, I let them put a ladder in the yard for 1 day which turned into 4 and then they left a mess of cut wires and other trash in my garden. My answer to them is no! Not through my house or my yard or my roof.
Posted by: guest at September 7, 2007 12:33 PM
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