Residents should speak out on Verizon plan

Verizon is threatening to put up a 120-foot-tall cell tower within a few hundred feet of the YMCA of Western Monmouth County’s Camp Topanemus on Route 537 in Freehold Township.

Verizon is going to try and convince the Freehold Township Planning Board on Feb. 18 that the cell tower is necessary even though over 90 percent of the land it will service in Freehold Township is protected Green Acres land. Verizon has filed suit against Freehold Township for rejecting a previous site in the area.

Verizon is a huge company and is willing to spend whatever it takes to do what it wants. This company has spent more than $250 million in the last few decades lobbying Congress and donating to politicians. They have been charged by the New Jersey attorney general with fraudulent business practices and agreed to a multimillion dollar settlement in that case. … They have never spent a penny researching the effects of their towers on children’s health or on the value of nearby properties.

I would urge anyone who sends their child to Camp Topanemus  or who is sick and tired of huge corporations forcing their will upon us to come to the hearing on Feb. 18 at 7:30 p.m. at the Freehold Township municipal building and voice their concerns.

Mike Cavanaugh
Freehold Township