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Verizon Endangers Neighbors on "Forgotten" Street

Electrocution, burglary, insomnia. These are some of Verizon's current offerings to the residents of Poplar Street in Georgetown. It sounds crazy -- and it's driving some Georgetown residents to consider desperate moves. 

"It" is a swaying utility pole holding 142 wires that lashes one house during storms and provides trespassers ladder-like access to roofs.  And its causing nightmares on the otherwise peaceful street in the East Village.

Resident Nancy Flinn has been calling, petitioning, and begging Verizon since 2008 to have the telephone pole moved.  Flinn’s neighbors want the pole gone too -- they fear more unwanted visitors like the one who broke through a skylight after climbing the pole.

Then there are the five small children who live on the street. “What if one of those lines falls down when little Billy is playing?” Flinn asks.

Moving the pole apparently is complicated even for mega-utility Verizon. Flinn says she finally has Verizon’s attention, but its solutions are unsatisfactory. Verizon first wanted to “cut the pole down below the roof line and let the wires hang in front of our windows,” says Flinn.  “I said absolutely ‘no.’”

From the beginning, Flinn has pleaded for the pole to be moved across the street where there are no house fronts, windows and roofs to access.  “I’ve never understood why that’s not a solution,” she says. 

No less than 15 officials and staff from Verizon, Ward 2 Councilmember Jack Evans’ Office, the Mayor’s Office and the Department of Transportation and its Urban Forestry Administration have examined the pole and gone away bewildered, says Flinn.  She does concede, however, that Verizon sought permits to move the pole to the other side of Flinn’s house.

Verizon spokesperson Sandy Arnette says they were “prepared to set a new pole, transfer the existing cables, and remove the above-ground portion of the old pole on February 1,” but failed to get agreement from the residents.

Flinn says this solution is also unacceptable: the new pole location would impede access to the front door of the house next door, block her view, and devalue her property. The current pole would not be removed but chopped down along with a large, old tree that she dearly loves -- the tree is now growing around the pole. Verizon told Flinn she would have to pay to have the tree cut down. “I feel manipulated by Verizon,” she says.

The ideal solution for residents would be to bury the wires underground to maintain historic integrity, similar to how wires are hidden on other Georgetown streets. Verizon wants residents to pay for the burial, which would cost $82 per foot or $10,000 per household.  Flinn asks, “All of Georgetown is underground. Who has paid for that?” Jane Townsend, who has owned her Poplar Street home since 1967, firmly states, “I feel strongly that Verizon has to pay.”

Poplar Street is often ignored, says Townsend. “We never have snow removal or leaf or street maintenance.” Residents were forced to form a neighborhood association to resolve the issues that plague the neighborhood. Flinn remembers the street was swelling in the center and basements were flooded. “We told [the District] when they fixed the street that they should bury the lines,” Townsend says.  Their requests were ignored and the street was swiftly paved over without moving the lines.  “We have fought valiantly,” says Townsend, who claims they have dealt with the issue since 2002.

One frustrated resident says, “There must be a win-win situation for us all.” Possibly a wireless project? “It seems primitive to be talking about burying wires in this day and age,” she says.

Residents see Poplar Street as a “wonderful historic treasure.” With homes from the 1860s, it used to be the epicenter of a thriving black community and is now on one of Georgetown’s walking tours.  And they believe that the wires greatly diminish the beauty and history of the area.

Flinn believes she doesn’t have a lot of time left. “That pole will be in my bedroom soon. Verizon has been insulting to me.  Their solutions have been unsatisfactory. We don’t want a quick band-aid. We want it done right.”

Townsend says the neighbors are running out of options. “Our next step is action. We’ll march around City Hall if we have to.” Flinn has other plans, “We’re signing a petition and sending it to the Mayor’s office.” The petition has seven signatures, which may not seem a large number. But  the street isn’t very big either.

Flinn points to the side of the street where the utility pole could be moved to end the disruption.

The utility pole with all 142 wires leaning on a Poplar St. home.

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