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August 21, 2008
cables like crazy!
There are low, cut-off phone poles with major messes of wires - Verizon - Cable (I even called Con-Ed, believing they were electrical, they said they were not) DIRECTLY behind some Crown Heights buildings (mostly brownstones). I'm talking 20 feet away from the building and 15 - 20 feet off the ground. Tons of wires. Is this safe?
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We had about 10 extra wires running from our building and our neighbor's out drooping down through the branches of a tree to this crazy utility pole over the fence that must have 100 wires running to it.
Some were cable, some were phone (electrical is below ground).
It took about 20 calls over 3 years to get the problem corrected.
Verizon would send a tech and he's show up and say. "I'm here to fix your phone service". We'd say "there's nothing wrong with the service, just too many wires" and he would leave, saying it wasn't his dept (despite clearly explaining to the dispatcher what the problem was). This happened at least 3 times.
Time Warner was similar. Their major problem was how could I, who am not a customer, be making a request to have wires fixed (we don't have cable service ourselves but previous owner did).
3 things:
1. Turns out the magic words are "Wire Maintenance Crew"
2. The utilities have a responsibilities to maintain the wires and if they fail to do so can be reported to the public service commission.
3. You will need to coordinate with your neighbors. You can't call to have someone else's wires removed (at least it didn't work for me).
Hope this helps. Be persistent and it will get done. Our garden looks much better now.
Posted by: phripley at August 21, 2008 3:52 PM
Also ask your local community board for help.
I do know that, as a homeowner, if a utility has cables strung diagonally across my yard to a neighbors house I can have them moved so as to run along the property line between the homes (attached rowhouses).
This is an encroachment issue and unless there is an easement recorded they must run along the property lines (they are very lazy).
Posted by: SenatorStreet at August 21, 2008 7:38 PM
Greetings,
Thank you for your comments! phripley, that crazy utility pole you describe sounds exactly like what I'm dealing with. I'm actually a renter, though. Two times Verizon did exactly what you described, and I'd also exactly described the problem. Thanks for the 'magic words'! If I am unsuccessful at this, despite my persistence, I'll likely jot a note to my landlord, who could then contact the neighbor as necessary.....
Thank you both!
Posted by: chnyc at August 25, 2008 4:38 PM
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