Proposed cellphone tower draws opposition from Ocean City residents

Three brothers who are leading the opposition in their neighborhood to a proposed 125-foot-tall cellphone tower pleaded with Ocean City officials Thursday night to do everything in their power to block the project.

Gregory, Tom and Joseph Sirianni presented City Council with a petition signed by 535 people opposing the tower that would be built by Verizon Wireless on city-owned land at 3308 Bay Ave.

During comments to Council, all three maintained that a large cellphone tower would be “intrusive” and would ultimately spoil the residential character of their neighborhood in the area of 33rd Street and Bay Avenue.

“This is not simply about a tower; it’s about preserving the character, the visual identity, of America’s Greatest Family Resort,” Gregory Sirianni said, referring to Ocean City’s tourism slogan.

“People work their entire lives to buy homes here. People have sacrificed to build memories here. Businesses depend on the beauty and charm of this island. Property values, tourism, community image, neighborhood integrity – all of these things deeply matter to all of us sitting here,” Sirianni continued.

He maintained that a 125-foot tower “would change the landscape forever.”

He also told Council that vacation homeowners are alarmed when they come down to Ocean City and find out about the proposed tower for the first time.

“When they start to come down, this is going to be insane when they find out about this. They have no awareness about it,” Sirianni said. “Every single time I speak to a homeowner that shows up, that’s affected by the area, (they have) no idea. Common theme, shock, appalled – they don’t understand why this is happening.”

For the past few years, local homeowners have voiced concerns about the visual blight and possible health effects of having cellphone towers being built too close to residential neighborhoods.

In 2023, Verizon Wireless sought approval from Ocean City’s planning board to locate wireless antennas on the roof of a two-story real estate building at 3337-39 Haven Ave. amid strong opposition from neighboring homeowners.

The planning board rejected the plan by Verizon Wireless, which in turn sued the city to overturn the decision.

In a related vote in 2025, Council approved a settlement in the Verizon Wireless litigation that could allow the company to build the 125-foot-high cellphone tower on city property at 3308 Bay Ave.

    City Council has heard complaints about the proposed cellphone tower for two straight meetings.
  

Now, the neighbors living near 3308 Bay Ave. are angry and alarmed. They have spoken out against the proposed cellphone tower for two Council meetings in a row while urging the governing body and Mayor Jay Gillian to stop Verizon.

“Please say no,” Tom Sirianni told city officials at Thursday’s meeting.

Joseph Sirianni argued that Verizon Wireless is simply trying to hold down operating costs by building a large tower that would have the capability of serving a 13-mile radius of the surrounding area.

“A 125-foot tower can cover a huge area,” he said.

Joseph Sirianni urged city officials to negotiate an agreement with Verizon that would spare the neighborhood of 33rd and Bay from a cellphone tower, but at the same time give the company a suitable location for the project.

In 2025, City Council approved an ordinance that limits where cellphone towers and antennas may be located in Ocean City. They are restricted to public property owned, leased or otherwise controlled by the city. The city would have to give its consent before any cellphone towers are built on public land.

Under the ordinance, cellphone towers and antennas are prohibited from being built on private property.

During comments at the start of the Council meeting, Gillian revealed that the city has been speaking with Verizon and is reviewing “every possible option.” But he also noted that he can’t make any promises at this time to residents.

Gillian also said he is limited in what he can say about the tower because it has been a source of litigation between the city and Verizon.

“These issues involve litigation, so I would remind you about that. So I have to be very careful about what I say,” he emphasized.

    Mayor Jay Gillian says the city is talking to Verizon Wireless about the cellphone tower as neighborhood opposition to the project continues to mount.
  

The proposed tower would be located close to Ocean City’s municipal airport and the environmentally sensitive wetlands in the surrounding area. Gillian reported that neither the Federal Aviation Administration nor the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection have given regulatory approvals for the cellphone tower yet.

“I know there are a lot of questions, and people want information. But at this time, what I can report is that the FAA has not yet approved the project and the DEP has not yet approved the wetlands buffer,” Gillian said.

“Those decisions, as you know, are well beyond our control. On our part, we are doing everything we can to look at alternatives. We have been working on this issue for several years now and will continue to keep everyone updated,” he added.

City Council President Terry Crowley Jr. also told the Sirianni brothers that the governing body would keep the neighborhood updated about the tower and anything it might be able to do to help the homeowners.

Like Gillian, Crowley said he could not make any promises at this time to the neighbors.

“We’re going to do everything we can to address this,” Crowley said.