Service Restored in South Utica and New Hartford as Cellphone Tower is Complete

Residents of South Utica and parts of New Hartford rejoice! The dead zone you were living is has been brought back to life with the completion of a new cell tower in the village of New Hartford.

Imagine my surprise when I was on a call driving down Oneida Street passing the Ridgewood Market and the Calvary Cemetery and my call remained in tact. How could this be? Then realization struck and the announcement from Senator Chuck Schumer's office was released. Senator Schumer announced,

I stood with South Uticans and New Hartford residents at their wit’s end last year, fed up with a cell phone dead zone that couldn’t seem to be brought back to life. I turned up the volume on Verizon in hopes that they would get the message and today I am proud to say: Verizon heard me and Utica loud and clear. The New Hartford cell tower is officially built, fully up and running, and connecting residents to the long-desired cell service Oneida Street has desperately needed. Nobody should ever be put in harm’s way because they can’t call 911 because of a cell phone dead zone. I thank Verizon for heeding my calls and expediting construction to deliver for the community like they promised me they would. I will keep fighting to make sure we address these cell dead zones across Upstate NY so residents have access to reliable, high-quality mobile service.

This project was fast tracked as a result of constituents complaining following a fire that broke out in the Ridgewood Market plaza and the business owners being unable to get a call out to 911.

As a result of the fire, Schumer's office stepped in to action and put increased pressure on the cell phone carrier to do something to fix the problem. The Village of New Hartford Board approved the plans for Verizon to build the tower near the New Hartford Rec Center and as of Wednesday, August 28th, 2024 the cell phone tower was active and online.

Ridgewood Market owner Andy Weimer said,

I am grateful that Verizon cell service has been restored to the Ridgewood neighborhood and my business. All of the businesses in the Ridgewood neighborhood will benefit from the restored service, as well as the neighborhood having access to emergency services if the need should arise. We all appreciate Senator Schumer's help making this happen.

People in the area of Ridgewood and Oxford Road in New Hartford will start to hear and experience the relief of no more dropped calls. This is a big week for people in this part of Oneida County.