SCHUMER ANNOUNCES, AFTER MONTHS OF ADVOCACY, NEW VERIZON CELL TOWER IS FINALLY ONLINE BRINGING LONG DESIRED CELL SERVICE TO RESIDENTS & BUSINESSES WITHIN INFAMOUS UTICA DEAD ZONE AND VILLAGE OF NEW HARTFORD

One Of Utica’s Busiest Streets — Oneida Street — Was Plagued By A Verizon Dead Zone For Years Frustrating Neighbors & Business Owners And Leading To Public Safety Issues With Residents Unable To Make Calls

For Years Town Could Get No Change, But Senator Stood With Locals & Publicly Called On Verizon And FINALLY Got Move On Building A Cell Tower In New Hartford That Will Start To Provide Service To The Area That Just Went Online This Week

Schumer: I Made Sure Verizon Heard Utica’s Voices, And Now Cell Service Is Finally Here For Oneida Street’s Dead Zone

After standing with local residents, business owners, and elected officials last year to demand that Verizon fix the cell phone dead zone plaguing South Utica and New Hartford, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer today announced a new cell tower that he helped secure at the New Hartford Recreation Center is officially online bringing long desired cell service to Oneida Street, the Ridgewood neighborhood, and the Village of New Hartford.

“I stood with South Uticans and New Hartford residents at their wit’s end last year, fed up with a cell phone dead zone that couldn’t seem to be brought back to life. I turned up the volume on Verizon in hopes that they would get the message and today I am proud to say: Verizon heard me and Utica loud and clear. The New Hartford cell tower is officially built, fully up and running, and connecting residents to the long-desired cell service Oneida Street has desperately needed,” said Senator Schumer. “Nobody should ever be put in harm’s way because they can’t call 911 because of a cell phone dead zone. I thank Verizon for heeding my calls and expediting construction to deliver for the community like they promised me they would. I will keep fighting to make sure we address these cell dead zones across Upstate NY so residents have access to reliable, high-quality mobile service.”

"After many years and countless local complaints gone unanswered, as a resident in the dead zone, I would like to thank Senator Schumer for taking up our cause, holding Verizon's feet to the fire, and making sure they fixed the South Utica dead zone. With the Verizon dead zone finally patched, local businesses like Ridgewood Market can better access wireless connection to help them grow, and local homeowners can sleep more soundly knowing their call to emergency services will go through if needed while in their homes or simply walking with our families in the neighborhood," said Mayor of Utica Mike Galime. "On behalf of all the Utica residents, businesses, and members of our community plagued by Verizon's South Utica dead zone, I reiterate our profound appreciation to Senator Schumer for making this game changing new tower a reality and delivering for the City of Utica time and time again. This is true advocacy at work."

"For years, complaints of wireless dead zones in the Village of New Hartford lodged by residents and businesses fell on deaf ears at Verizon. Yesterday, I drove through the village talking on my cell phone and my Verizon connection was crystal clear in areas that had been dead zones for as long as I can remember," said Village of New Hartford Mayor Donald Ryan. "The Village of New Hartford, the City of Utica, and all of New York State are lucky to have a representative like Senator Schumer who not only takes on the issues that affect our lives every single day, but who follows through and fixes them."

“I am grateful that Verizon cell service has been restored to the Ridgewood neighborhood and my business, said Ridgewood Market Owner Andy Weimer. “All of the businesses in the Ridgewood neighborhood will benefit from the restored service, as well as the neighborhood having access to emergency services if the need should arise. We all appreciate Senator Schumer's help making this happen.“

Last year, Schumer personally visited Oneida County, advocating for South Utica and New Hartford residents and small business owners, who were at their wit’s end after dealing with Verizon’s cellular dead zone, and called on the company to fix the issue immediately. Schumer publicly called on Verizon to do three things: 1) investigate the problem 2) meet with local officials and 3) come up with a plan to fix the problem ASAP. Shortly after Schumer’s call to action, Verizon representatives engaged with the City of Utica, the Village of New Hartford, and Schumer’s staff to work on solving the issue.

The Village of New Hartford’s Board approved Verizon’s application to construct a new tower which will mitigate coverage issues for South Uticans, residents of New Hartford, and drivers traveling along Oneida Street last July. Shortly after they began construction on the tower and as construction continued, a fire in the area highlighted the immediate need for this longstanding problem to be fixed ASAP. Schumer doubled down on his calls saying Verizon needed to speed up construction, which was completed earlier this week with the new cell tower coming online yesterday finally bringing cellular service to the dead zone and other areas along Oneida Street.

According to Schumer, mobile dead zones are areas where there is no cellular signal, either because the signal is being blocked, the tower is too small for the area, or because the cell phone tower is too far. Causes for these dead zones may vary. For example, cell phone signals are facilitated by a radio frequency (RF) signal via a tower's transmit. If the RF signal is too far or is blocked by obstacles, then a cell phone dead zone is created. The most common culprits are cell phone tower distance and topography like hills, mountains, ridges, and foliage because they can absorb or reflect the signal waves, but there are other reasons too, like in New York City, where skyscrapers can create dead zones.

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