Schumer, left, and Depew check out one of the
more than 500 zombie poles, on right
TOWN OF WALLKILL – Zombie utility poles are those that are not in use any longer, yet the companies that had used them, do not remove them when new ones are installed.
In the Town of Wallkill, there are 546 of those wooden poles and following Town Supervisor Daniel Depew’s raising the issue to remove them, US Senator Charles Schumer came to the town of Tuesday to urge the utility companies to remove the so-called zombies.
“If they are left to rot over time and not kept up like the new ones besides them, they risk damaging everything in their path,” Schumer said. “Most of these poles weigh a half-a-ton, they are over 1,000 pounds and if one falls on the other during a storm, they knock out all the utility lines, not just for the house they are in front of, but for all neighborhoods and regions. There could be serious power outages, communications problems. They could even block roadways and God forbid one of these poles actually toppled on a pedestrian or passing car or came through the roof of a neighboring home. That’s a nightmare scenario.”
Depew said Orange and Rockland Utilities is a good neighbor and takes down those unused poles. It is cable TV and phone companies that often do not, Schumer said.
