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Pittsfield, MA – Lawyers supported by Children’s Health Defense (CHD) are representing four families in a suit in Massachusetts Superior Court seeking to reinstate the Pittsfield Board of Health’s cease and desist order against Verizon. The case is the next step in the resident’s 24-month ordeal that began when Verizon turned on a cell tower in their neighborhood known as “Shacktown.” As soon as the tower went operational, people began getting sick. Almost 20 have been definitively identified, but more may be negatively affected.

The Pittsfield Board of Health issued the cease and desist on April 11, 2022, after a long and thorough investigation into the health impacts of Verizon’s tower.  It rescinded the order on June 1, 2022, after Verizon sued in federal court. W. Scott McCollough (McCollough Law Firm, PC) and Paul Revere, III (Law Offices of Paul Revere, III) are representing the Plaintiffs and argue in their suit that the interference of several city officials was improper, unlawful and tainted the entire process. 

The Pittsfield Board of Health studied the relevant scientific and medical information, including more than 1,000 peer-reviewed studies. The Board interviewed scientists and medical professionals. It took evidence from those and met with Verizon Wireless. The Board discovered the cell tower was making 17 individuals ill, and their homes were so uninhabitable that many had to move away, while others moved in with relatives, and some slept in their cars. The tower had rendered sleep elusive, cognition impaired, while some children were vomiting in their beds at night. Vertigo, heart palpitations and severe headaches were part of the constellation of neurological symptoms experienced by the affected neighbors.

On April 11, 2022, the Board issued an “Emergency Order” having found health and sanitary code violations and declared that the Verizon cell tower is a public nuisance. They gave Verizon seven days to request a hearing and, if it did not, then it had to discontinue operation. Verizon then filed a lawsuit contending the Board is powerless and cannot protect Pittsfield residents from the tower’s toxic wireless emissions.

The Board has bravely tried to resolve the problem, but Verizon has refused to admit to the harms it is inflicting, or to engage in collaborative efforts to resolve these harms. Even worse, the Board and the residents are not just having to deal with Verizon. Others in the city have persistently tried to prevent the Board from providing meaningful relief. Pittsfield Mayor Linda Tyer, City Solicitor Stephen Pagnotta and former Dir. of Community Development Deanna Ruffer have done all they could to frustrate the Board’s independent authority and duty to end the toxic wireless emissions, or at least mitigate them. The residents’ suit contends that these three officials have violated the state’s nepotism laws and the ethics standards for government employees and attorneys. The lawsuit extensively documents their specific actions and details the financial and legal conflicts of interest that are driving them.

Tyer, Pagnotta and Ruffer, in cooperation with Verizon, thwarted the Board’s efforts to secure outside counsel, thereby ensuring that the Board could not defend its Emergency Order. As a result, the Board was coerced into rescinding the Emergency Order on June 1, 2022. The residents’ lawsuit challenges the Board’s decision to rescind, but its principal focus is on Tyer, Pagnotta Ruffer. The complaint seeks a court declaration that their interference was improper, unlawful and tainted the entire process. If the Superior Court grants the requested relief, these individuals will have to stop their improper interference and the Board will be allowed the flexibility it needs to remediate the harms it has already found to exist.

“Pittsfield has previously taken on companies that were hurting its citizens,” said CHD president and general counsel Mary Holland. “The residents of the Shacktown neighborhood epitomize the reality that prosperity means nothing if your citizens are sick and even dying. The only difference here is that it is Verizon, not General Electric, and the toxin is wireless radiation not PCBs. When GE left Pittsfield, it created an economic vacuum but moving the tower to address the residents’ suffering, including three homeowners with cancer, does not create a hardship for anyone. Several commercial landowners in Pittsfield have offered their property for the tower. In this picturesque city in the Berkshires with 40% open space, Verizon can put their tower where it is not a potentially lethal nuisance.” 

“The Board is trying to do the right thing, but they have been prevented from carrying out their duties because of cronyism and favoritism,” continued Holland. “We hope that this suit will stop the interference and free up the Board so it can finally force Verizon to the negotiating table as the Emergency Order intended prior to its forced rescission.”

WPCNR CORONA VIRUS BULLETIN. From the New York State Covid Tracker, Observation & Analysis by John F. Bailey, July 28, 2022:

Following the midweek Covid Surge Pattern of the last 19 weeks, The Covid Tracker reported 411 PRS (lab-verified) new persons tested with the corona virus in Westchester County.

Sunday the 24 to Wednesday, the 27th, on the last week of July, there were 266, 199, 327 and yesterday 411 new persons down with covid, an average of 300 new infections a day, which if continued through Saturday will give Westchester County 2,100 infections for the week . Last week Thursday through Saturday, the county had 3 days of 342, 344, and 349 new positives so we may have just short of the 2,360 infections last week.

There is small comfort from that because the county is only testing an average of 2,564 persons a day. At infection rates of 10% in those small quantities, you might assume if more tests were done that were PRS (lab verified) you would have far more infections that the average positives coming from these very low testing figures.

If the pattern swings up from the Thursday, Friday and Saturday levels the last week of July would be the 11th week in 14 weeks of “up” weeks in covid infections. With 2,100 infections for the week compared to 2,360 last week, the county would be just shy of 10,000 infections in July (9, 925)

In July of 2021, Westchester County had just 470 covid cases, 59 a day. Those 470 positives in June 2021 lead to the beginning of the 2nd wave of covid in July 2021 when cases went up to 1,782 in July 2021, each new positive infecting 4 persons.

This year because testing is down sharply to below 2,500 bonafide PRC (lab-analysed) tests you have no idea how many persons are out there relaxing, socializing, infecting. There is no bonafide infection rate.

Last month June 2022, using New York State Tracker figures, Westchester County totaled 9,642 new positives in 30 days, a spread rate of 321 new cases a day and they are spreading the cases faster testing positive within 2 days. not 10 to 14, the spread rate of the old covid. Since the B.A.5 Variant is at large, it is indeed proving much more contagiously covid this month.

What have those 9,642 positives in July done so far, created just about 10,000 infections in July, sustaining their spread to just about 1 other person. That is actually good news, but wait–testing is limited, they may seen more than one person. We do not know, because tracing has declined.

What we can expect in August is another 10,000 infections if not more. Because of the unknown universe of asymtomatic, positives walking around thinking they are cured.

The Midweek Covid Surge Pattern is continuing and it has continued consistently for 20 weeks since early March.

The syndrome reflects heightened social activity by all ages, outdoor recreation without restriction, no masking policies that are enforced, no penalties of any kind, expanded entertainment capacities, outdoor festivals and concerts.

With schools opening in one month, with no plans I have heard of by any school district for precautions of disease spreading even in view of the monkeypox situation; with much more of a universe of positives in a month hitting the schools potentially–Superintendents of Schools, the State Education Department and the New York State Health Department and communities across Westchester should give this some careful “what if scenarios?” and what they would do.

More to the point, what is the State Senate, the State Assembly think about the covid situation? And the Disease of the week, Monkeypox, which has gone from squibs to headlines in a week?

Since the State Houses in Albany relieved Governor Andrew M. Cuomo of the Governor ability to take emergency measures and invoke emergency powers, only the State Senate and State Assembly have the power to order statewide emergency measures (as Governor Cuomo did and his measures stopped the first wave of covid cold by April 1 of 2020, and then it came back after the restrictions were lifted.

Assemblyman Chris Burdick of the 93rd Assembly District told WPCNR this afternoon that the current state budget has set aside financial resources in the budget to fund possible covid expenses for emergency actions the two legislative houses deem necessary as conditions of covid appear to require, and now the Monkeypox threat is a source of serious concern.

I asked Assemblyman Burdick if the atmosphere in Albany during the special session just completed reflected awareness and concern for the infection surges in the Mid-Hudson, Long Island and in the five boroughs of New York City.

He said the concern in the Special Session only dealt with the Abortion legislation and crafting new “concealed carry” laws. He said he, since he does not sit on the Health Committee he could not comment on the Health Committee concerns, if any, about the covid spread and its new companion threat Monkeypox.

I asked under what circumstances would possible measures be taken up by the legislatures (in view of the legislature now in charge of approving Emergency y Measures, having relieved the former Governor Cuomo of that power.)

Burdick said that if Governor Kathy Hochul felt emergency measures and actions were necessary to handle the dual disease threat rolling into the fall, she would have to call an Emergency Session of the legislature to take up steps she felt were necessary for State Senate and State Assembly for approval.

Of course, with Governor Hochul apparently reluctant to seize the covid issue worried about getting elected, pushing for some mandatory covid and monkey pox containment will irresponsibly be seized by her opponent who comes from the area of the state that is responsible for bringing covid back, Nassau and Suffolk Counties. This week Nassau and Suffolk counties have combined for 4,683 new positives in 4 days, double that of Westchester County. This is not new.

And you know the legislators do not want to shut down schools, shut down businesses, shut down theatres and restaurants, and they desperately want to get people out of their homes back to work in the city to spur that city revenue driver.

Covid and Monkeypox are rising

As Frank Sinatra sang, “It’s up to you New York New York.”