Vallone and Astoria residents argued that DOB lacked authority to grant cell phone equipment permits. In 2005, Omnipoint Communications received a Department of Buildings permit to install cellular phone antennas and equipment cabinets on the roof of an Astoria, Queens building. Council Member Peter F. Vallone Jr. and Astoria residents appealed the permit to BSA, arguing that Buildings lacked the authority to approve the cell phone equipment. According to Vallone, approval required a special permit from BSA.

Buildings disagreed. In 1998, it issued a technical policy notice interpreting a section of the zoning resolution. The notice stated that for cell phone equipment meeting certain specifications, including being less than 8.45 sq.ft. in diameter and needing less than six feet in height above a building’s roof line, Buildings could issue a permit. Since the zoning text required a special permit from BSA for “communication equipment structures” that posed “serious difficulties” in locating, Buildings reasoned that this meant much larger cell phone equipment. If the cell phone equipment exceeded the notice’s specifications, it needed a special permit from BSA, according to Buildings. (read more…)