For every cell tower that goes up, light industry that constructs a new building, or historic, old train station that
gets bulldozed to make way for Lord knows what, I become more and
more steadfast in my opposition to change, at least some kinds of change.
I am more interested in re-invogorating the existing infrastructure of downtown.
Empty existing storefronts should be filled.
Sidewalks should be maintained and maybe even lengthened.
The clock being restored is terrific.
We should, as stewards of this rural town, be steadfast in preserving what we have,
maintaining the self-sufficiency of our strong, supportive community, and taking the bolder and braver steps
to holding firm to what we already have and vehemently denying the ru-burbanization of Copake.
I have to wonder:
Does a cell tower pose any risk whatsoever to our health?
The phones themselves possibly do.
So, perhaps a giant magnet for a bunch of transmissions might too. But, I dunno. Do you?
If the EMS, Fire, and Police crews need stronger communication systems, I think that's paramount, and we should focus on that very seriously.
I have spoken to a couple of members of both the EMS and Police departments,
and I have been told that their system is independent of any cell tower that might go up.
Is there any way to boost the existing Emergency Services communication system so
they can obtain life-saving signals in a wider range of areas and not have to switch to their personal cellphones to make
possible life-saving calls?
I like the idea of the best technology for what's truly important.
Do we know what's going to be built on the south entrance from Rt. 22 after the great old train station is gone?
A storage facility that we really don't need?
An open space of simply grass and trees?
I dunno.
Are we going to start to fill-in the long stretch between downtown Hillsdale and the new library in Copake?
Probably...eventually.
None of this new stuff will ever come down again. Clearing open space for new construction allows for a domino-effect of
"since one tower is up, we might need another because I still cannot make a call from such-and-such road".
Or, "well, there's already a couple of light-industries here, and they're doing well, so we might want a couple more".
Or, "well, nobody seems to want to restore the general store and open something up in the same space, so we might want to consider
encouraging an entrepreneur to build a new store on the flats, or somewhere else".
And, so on.
I say we care for and support what we already have, fill-up the empty buildings and
explore other solutions before we crap-up another hilltop, or build out and beyond, into open space.
Let's research how to help the Emergency Services folks obtain the best possible system of communication and learn to live with some dead zones
when we are trying to Twitter our BFFs.
If someone gets stuck in a ditch and cannot get a signal, maybe someone one will stop and help them. I know I would.
I smell the signs of sprawl.
It may not happen today, or tomorrow, but it feels like it's coming and when it does, it won't stop.
If the majority of the town wants new, better, bigger and faster, so be it.
But, my fears of what might begin to happen here do make me want to stand firmer and clearer on my stance
about preserving, supporting, and maximizing what we already have.
Perhaps I stand alone.
So I shall.
Truly,
Steve Rosenzweig, King of the Luddites.
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