VosIzNeias is asking for calls to get those cellphone twoers installed on a stretch of NY state highway that has seen at least two recent deaths due to lack of cellphone coverage. The request is to call now:
Mr. Michael Balboni
Deputy Secretary of Public Safety for the State of New York
518 474 3522
VIN got some heavy press coverage for this campaign in the New York Daily News and in the Albany Times Union:
An aide to the Spitzer administration’s public safety czar, Michael Balboni, said she has received “hundreds” of phone calls today from people who say they want cell towers installed on the Northway.
Most of the calls are originating from Brooklyn, the aide said, although some are coming from Montreal.
Many of the callers have Jewish last names, which stands to reason, since the Orthodox community has been pushing hard on this issue since the death in January of one of their own.
Alfred Langner was on his way back from a wedding in Montreal with his wife, Barbara, when his car slid off the Northway in Essex County and wasn’t discovered for more than 30 hours. His wife watched him die of hypothermia because she couldn’t get a signal to call for help.
Today’s campaign is being championed by an Orthodox Jewish blogger who has made this issue something of a cause celebre.