AT&T, Muttontown Oppose Motion to Intervene in Cell Tower Fight

AT&T joins with the village of Muttontown, New York, and its various boards in opposing the Oct. 18 motion of resident Russell McRory to intervene in the infrastructure fight between AT&T and the village, company attorneys wrote U.S. Magistrate Judge Lee Dunst for Eastern New York in Central Islip Monday (docket 2:22-cv-05524). Lawyers for the village wrote Dunst Friday to say McRory “is not entitled to intervention as of right.” Dunst ordered all parties to file “formal responses” to the motion to intervene by Dec. 16, and scheduled oral argument on the motion for Jan. 18 at 2 p.m. EST. AT&T’s Sept. 15 complaint alleges that Muttontown’s failure to approve its October 2021 application to build a “stealth” cell tower at the Village Hall obstructed the company’s ability to remedy a service gap in the community, in violation of the 1996 Telecom Act. McRory’s motion to intervene said his home “abuts the premises where the proposed cell tower would be located,” and residents like him “are not aligned” with the village board, which supports the cell tower, against the objections of the local zoning board of appeals (see 2210200034). McRory alleges AT&T conspired secretly with Muttontown officials to OK the cell tower -- allegations that AT&T denies as “categorically false” (see 2210210044).