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‘Zombie poles’ to remain for months

By Julie Lane

JULIE LANE PHOTO ‘Zombie poles’ remain around the Island since PSEG-LI replaced several rotting poles, but Verizon and Cablevision have yet to hook wires to the new poles and dispense with the old. This picture shows one set of the double poles at the corner of North Ferry and Winthrop roads.
JULIE LANE PHOTO ‘Zombie poles’ remain around the Island since PSEG-LI replaced several rotting poles, but Verizon and Cablevision have yet to hook wires to the new poles and dispense with the old. This picture shows one set of the double poles at the corner of North Ferry and Winthrop roads.

Zombie poles.

You see them scattered around the Island where once there was a single pole and today there are two — one new PSEG pole installed in 2017 and the other that still carries hookups to Verizon and Cablevision. Those companies haven’t reconfigured their lines to the new poles and removed the old ones.

Verizon spokeswoman Laura Merritt explained that there’s a “complex process” involved in moving the wires before the old poles can be removed. It requires coordination of multiple organizations, including local power, cable television and telecommunications companies, Ms. Merritt said.

Once all the wiring has been moved to the new poles, the old ones will be removed, she said, adding that the Island has “the added complexity of requiring the use of a ferry to remove the poles.”

The sites with the double poles are “in various stages of the transfer process,” Ms. Merritt said. “It’s difficult to provide a specific time frame for removals.”

With respect to those poles where the rewiring has been completed, the Verizon spokeswoman said they will be removed from the Island over the next several months.

Cablevision spokespeople couldn’t be reached for comment.

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