The San Francisco Planning Commission voted Nov. 3 to delay for one month a decision on the installation of cellphone antennas on the roof of the Bureau of Jewish Education to give everyone time to work out a compromise.
AT&T Wireless has contracted with the BJE to install the antennas, but the plan is upsetting to some parents at the Lisa Kempner Hebrew Academy, located next door in the Richmond District. They worry the antennas may pose a potential health risk and have threatened to pull their children out of the school. The BJE would lose substantial revenue if the antennas are not installed.
The BJE is located at 639 14th Ave., and the school is at 645 14th Ave. AT&T pays for use of the BJE’s roof space, where a single cellphone antenna has been in place for 14 years. The current plan is to replace it with six state-of-the-art antenna panels, enclosed in two faux chimneys.
BJE executive director David Waksberg, who met with a group of parents last month, said he hopes to meet with parents and school administrators again in the coming weeks and seek a compromise. n
— dan pine