New York City Wi-Fi Kiosks Said to Violate Civil Rights

Mon., Feb. 1, 2016

New York City Wi-Fi Kiosks Said to Violate Civil Rights

By Jack O'Dwyer

The 7,500 high-powered Wi-Fi kiosks proposed for New York City are a violation of civil rights, say critics. The kiosks are to be discussed Feb. 10 at 6 p.m. at an NYU facility in Brooklyn. The event should be shifted to New York. Dan Doctoroff, ex-CEO of Bloomberg and now CEO of Sidewalk Labs, builder of the Kiosks, is to speak for a half hour and then take questions at the Center for Urban Science & Progress, downtown Brooklyn. The event is fine but the location and format are no-brainers. Dan Doctoroff It should take place at the Kimmel Center off Washington Square in New York where the New York chapter of PRSA held a career day April 2, 2013. That was a sad day for the chapter, students, NYU and education since the press was barred and no literature table was allowed. The chapter allowed itself to be dominated by the anti-press policies of national, a staff member of the Society showing up at Kimmel to make sure no press got into the event. Bill Doescher, 2016 chapter president, should set up an event to discuss the hazards of radiation since PR people are heavy users of cellphones and computers and work in offices that are bathed in Wi-Fi. Holding the Doctoroff session in Brooklyn would be like the New York Times reporting the Center for Disease Control’s pullback on caution for cellphone use in the business section on a Saturday (Jan. 2, 2016) when the story belonged on page one of the general news section on a weekday. Literature Table Needed Since the Doctoroff appearance is on educational turf, no limits should be put on the pursuit of knowledge about the kiosks and other sources of radiation such as cellphones, cordless phones (among the worst emitters of radiation), computers, Wi-Fi routers, “smart” electrical meters, baby monitors etc. There should be a literature table and the event should not be limited to an hour. Doctoroff and his staff should answer questions in advance since this can be a subject of almost unlimited complexity. Financing the $200 million project, described in the Jan. 25 New Yorker, are Google and Qualcomm. It will be more than half finished by 2020. An additional 2,500 Wi-Fi “hotspots” are to be created. Doctoroff, announcing the new company June 10, 2015, said, “We are at the beginning of a historic transformation in cities. At a time when the concerns about urban equity, costs, health and the environment are intensifying, unprecedented technological change is going to enable cities to be more efficient, responsive, flexible and resilient.” Wireless Causes “Host of Health Problems” Sandi Maurer, director of the EMF Safety Network, said “Environmental protections are insufficient to protect public health, children and nature” from what is a “new rapidly deployed technology.” “Wireless disrupts cellular communications, damages immune and nervous systems, desynchronizes brain and heart rhythms, and causes headaches, sleep problems, tinnitus, anxiety and a host of other health problems.” She refers the public to bioinitiative.org. Deborah Kopald, an independent consultant, author of "Legal and Health Probems of the Wireless Age,"is circulating a form that can be used to file and email a civil rights complaint with the New York State Dept. of Technology and Telecommunications (DOITT). The link addresses the “NYC payphone and hotspot scheme” and says it provides forms and contacts to file complaints with the New York Attorney General.  It contains a sample letter as well. The kiosks violate the Americans with Disabilities Act, the New York City Human Rights Law and the New York State Human Rights Law by subjecting citizens, including those with “sensitivity to electromagnetic radiation and many other medical conditions and pregnant women” to radiation, says the EMF Safety Network. “City officials who authorize this scheme would be committing Public Endangerment in the Second Degree,” says EMF. Under NYC Human Rights Law, those with electromagnetic sensitivities and most medical conditions would not be able to heed the advice of their own physicians, it adds. “If a hotspot is put on the street near a home or critical institution, many people will not be able to access the sidewalk to access the building in question without getting serious symptoms and violating doctors’ orders,” said EMF. Google’s “Wi-Fi from Space” Battled by GUARDS Global Union Against Radiation Deployment from Space (GUARDS) is battling plans by Google, Facebook and SpaceX to launch and replace thousands of satellites to provide worldwide internet service. The “harmful pulsed microwave radiation” violates human rights conventions due to the “serious biological effects and involuntary nature of the exposure,” says the organization. The sky-based technology will “destroy ozone and worsen climate change due to the emission of black soot from so many rockets,” says GUARDS. “Combined with the detrimental effects RF radiation has on both flora and fauna, including bees, these global wireless projects are predicted to lead to environmental devastation and even widespread starvation.” Diane Hickey, co-founder of the National Assn. for Children and Safe Technology, wrote on Jan. 28 to Sari Feldman, president of the American Library Assn., asking ALA to publicize the dangers of radiation, especially to children. She said the numerous radiation emitters are “an emerging public health crisis, a five-alarm fire.” Defenders of radiation-emitters may resort to complexity but there are simple rules that people can follow now without getting a Ph.D. in electromagnetism. Precautions for Cellphone/Computer Use • Keep cellphones 10 inches from face • Wash face after computer use (electrons are sticking to face) • Unplug cordless phone base at bedtime or earlier • Keep phone on airplane mode most of time • Don’t sleep near cellphone that is “on” • Don’t carry cellphone in pocket • Don’t use cordless phone at all; they transmit 24/7 at a high level of radiation • Have wired computer, mouse, keyboard and other wired connections in home, office, libraries, car, etc. • Don’t use laptop keyboard • Keep face three feet from computer monitor • Don’t put laptop on lap • Don’t use cellphone in a car and especially a moving car or vehicle since phone will work extra hard to bring in signal • Only use cellphone where there is a strong signal • Don’t let children under 13 use cellphones except in emergency (skulls are thinner than adults) ; Wi-Fi equipment in schools, libraries, offices should be replaced with wired equipment. If you are an office worker in cubicle, make sure your head, if against a partition, is not up against the back of a computer; Children under 13 should not put Virtual Reality devices on their heads.

http://www.odwyerpr.com/story/public/6245/2016-02-01/new-york-city-wi-fi-kiosks-said-violate-civil-rights.html