Adams dunks on Knicks legend John Starks with cell tower in front of his car dealership
Knicks legend John Starks has gone from “posterizing” all-time NBA great Michael Jordan to being tower-ized by Mayor Eric Adams.
The Adams administration has OK’d the installation of a white, 32-foot, 5G cell phone tower in front of Starks’ Kia dealership in Queens — a structure that dwarfs the tallest 7 footers the Knicks star played with and competed against in the 1990s — including Patrick Ewing and Hakeem Olajuwon.
The tower at the corner of 87th Avenue and Queens Boulevard actually blocks the view of Starks’ name on the dealership from across the street.
Starks — whose legendary May 25, 1993 dunk over Jordan and the Chicago Bulls in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals sealed his stature as a New York sports legend — was so infuriated by the “eyesore” that he recently called Queens Borough President Donovan Richards to register a complaint.
Starks told Richards that he wasn’t given notice by the city before they decided to erect the tower about 10 feet from the front of his dealership.
The city Office of Technology & Innovation is overseeing the installation of 2,000 Link 5G street towers across the city to bolster service — including 18 that have caused an uproar in Community Board 8 on the Upper East Side.
Richards, a die-hard Knicks fan who fondly remembers Starks’ dunk over Jordan, said he supports the city’s wifi-expansion program but added that officials erred in their communication and siting of the Link 5G tower in front of Starks’ shop.
“Unless the city plans to install a hoop 10 feet up on the tower and fly Michael Jordan to Sunnyside so John Starks can dunk on him again, moving this pole is a small but important victory for transparency,” Richards told The Post.
“We appreciate the investment in expanding high-speed internet service across the borough, but just as Starks’ Knicks teams did from its front office, Queens deserves clear communication from the city ahead of any such installation when it comes to location — especially as residents have to pay for the 5G service these towers offer.”
Damien Corbett, the manager at the John Starks Kia dealership, confirmed that Starks is upset with the placement of the tower.
“Basically one of the things is where it’s located right now is it’s in front of our dealership and blocks our sign, the signage of it. It’s not that we are not in support of free WiFi, but where they have it located is a problem,” Corbett said.
“The location right in front of our front door is the difficult part of it…It doesn’t serve anyone well. We weren’t made aware of it in any shape, form or fashion until the day they came and said ‘we are putting up a WiFi tower here,’” added Corbett.
Starks was on his honeymoon and unavailable for comment but Corbett said his boss considers the giant tower “definitely an eyesore.”
It’s possible the city could correct its turnover. The tower in front of Starks’ dealership is not working yet. A sign on it reads, “LinkNYC Powering Up Soon.”
Ray Legendre, spokesman for the Office of Technology and Innovation responded, “We believe enhanced digital connectivity is a modern necessity, which is why we are building out infrastructure to improve network coverage and broadband capabilities to help New Yorkers succeed in today’s digital world.
“As we build out this specific piece of digital infrastructure, we plan to work with John Starks to minimize the impact to his business while ensuring this Link5G benefits the surrounding community.”
OTI also said prior to this Link5G’s tower installment at the Starks’ Kia dealership, the agency followed its procedure of notifying elected officials and community stakeholders of its proposed location, and holding a 60-day public comment period.
But the statement did acknowledge that when the site was vetted in March of this year, John Stark’s name had not been affixed to the building.
