By Mitchell Schwartz
Trustee, Roslyn Landmark Society
Image courtesy of Ariel Morabito, Trustee, Roslyn Landmark Society
Anybody who has visited the Roslyn community has seen the tall, iconic tower perched upon a hill in Roslyn Harbor, overlooking Hempstead Harbor and the Village of Roslyn. Visible for miles in all directions, the Long Lines Tower can even be spotted from the Throgs Neck Bridge. However, this historical structure may soon come down, to be replaced by a bare, monstrous “monopole” tower.
The Long Lines Tower was built as part of AT&T’s Long Lines Program back in the 1960s and 1970s, receiving and transmitting microwave signals as a link in the network. These towers were used by civilians and the government alike to make calls, transmit television broadcasts, and various other communication purposes. Built during the Cold War, these towers were also considered vital in the event of aggression against the United States. In fact, many of these towers were designed with nuclear blasts in mind. The Long Lines system would eventually become obsolete due to the rise of satellite and fiber optic communication systems – in addition to the creation of the internet. As a result, these towers, thousands of which were once scattered throughout the country, have been rapidly disappearing.
As a historically-significant structure in the Roslyn area, the Roslyn Long Lines Tower needs to be preserved. It is structurally-sound and meets all criteria for landmarking: It is over 50 years of age, was designed with input from the community, and is significant to both our local history and, given the Long Lines Program’s national importance, to the history of the United States, as a whole. Further, as it borders upon a historic district, its proposed replacement would have a negative impact on the surrounding area and undo decades of painstaking efforts to preserve the beauty and history of our community.
Roslyn is a community which has been blessed with a diverse range of landmarks, preserved through decades of Herculean efforts by local residents. It would be a tragedy and disservice to our community to allow for this landmark to be demolished and replaced by a structure which would not reflect our historic community. If the plans go forward for a gargantuan monopole cellphone tower to be erected, it will go against the excellent reputation of historic preservation efforts that have been undertaken by the Board of Trustees of the Incorporated Village of Roslyn Harbor and the New York State Historic Preservation Office.
2 Comments
Take it down. It's a eyesore and not natural to the landscape, just because something has lasted for so long doesn't mean it automatically has significance, it's actually quite scary and ominous looking especially at dusk.
Landmarking a standard microwave tower sounds peculiar! not clear why the monopole tower is so “monostrous”? Is it significantly taller?