In light of recent coverage regarding the proposed communications tower at Ramapo Valley Reservation, it is important to clarify what actually transpired.

Although the County Commissioners ultimately decided not to move forward with the project, this reversal should be viewed in its proper context. The change in course came only after sustained pressure from the grassroots group SOAR (Save Our Amazing Ramapo's) and a scathing investigative report that raised serious concerns about the proposal.The decision was political and not driven by a renewed commitment to environmental protection or greater transparency.

The proposed tower was intended to facilitate high-frequency stock trading by transmitting microwave data between the New York Stock Exchange data center in Mahwah and financial markets in Chicago and Canada, shaving microseconds off trading times to benefit private financial interests. This project was driven by profit, not public need. It was never intended to provide cellular service or emergency communications for the Ramapo Valley Reservation. Yet the County Commissioners repeatedly made unsubstantiated claims to justify what many viewed as an unnecessary and environmentally destructive project.

They cited alleged deficiencies in cellular coverage and heightened public safety risks at Ramapo Valley Reservation, including claims that lost or injured hikers and first responders had been unable to contact dispatch. However, these claims were never supported by credible evidence. Mahwah’s Police Chief directly contradicted them, noting that the installation of an 88-foot communications tower at nearby Camp Yaw Paw had already resolved any previous coverage issues. “As far as this office is concerned,” he stated, “the smaller tower ends the conversation regarding local coverage gaps.”

Records purportedly supporting the Commissioners’ public statements,including cellular coverage maps, propagation studies, signal-strength analyses, reports of lost hikers, park-user complaints, and related memoranda, were requested. In response, it was stated that “the Board of Commissioners possessed no responsive documents.”

Claims of reductions in federal funding were also cited as justification for the project, yet these assertions were similarly unsupported. A request was submitted for documentation such as federal grant award reductions, rescissions, termination notices, or revised funding materials related to a statement published in The Record on October 19, 2025, which read: “We have a federal government gutting funding to so many of our critical resources and our programs that affect those most in need. It’s not like we can just pull other dollars out of our derriere and fund projects of magnitude to public safety.” This request likewise resulted in a response indicating that the Board of Commissioners had no responsive records.

The proposed 500-foot structure, nearly half the height of the Empire State Building, would have provided no meaningful benefit to Bergen County residents. Instead, it would have permanently altered protected parkland, damaged scenic mountain vistas, and changed the character of the Ramapo Mountains forever. It was the wrong project in the wrong place.

Public trust depends on honesty, transparency, and responsible governance at every stage of decision making. When no documentation exists to support serious public safety claims, that absence alone should concern residents. Although the County Commissioners ultimately made the correct decision not to proceed, the process leading to that outcome, marked by unsupported assertions and a lack of records, should not be overlooked.

John Dinice
Republican Candidate for Bergen County Commissioner