ORANGE COUNTY, N.Y. -- Senator Charles Schumer has asked utility companies to remove old poles that are deemed hazardous and an eyesore for communities throughout Orange County.
Singling out telecommunications companies like Frontier Communications, Time Warner Cable and Orange and Rockland Electric Company, Senator Schumer asked these companies to take responsibility to remove old useless poles that are left to rot after they install new ones. In the town of Walkill alone, there are more than 546 duplicate utility poles.
Senator Schumer asks that the companies work with the communities to figure out the most effective way to solve the issue and adds that the problem has prevented local service providers from relocating their wires altogether -- and the matter could potentially get worse for residents.
"Most of these poles weigh a half a ton, and if one falls down during a storm, they knock out all the utility lines," Schumer said, "not just for the house they're in front of, but for whole neighborhoods and regions. There could be serious power outages, communications problems ... they could even block roadways."
A Time Warner Cable spokesperson said the company doesn't typically own the utility poles, but pays other utilities to attach to theirs. Frontier said it works with power companies to prioritize areas to remove old poles.
Time Warner Cable is the parent company of Time Warner Cable News.