Several hours before a community meeting tonight a few hundred yards away over a proposed cell phone tower, the owner of the targeted business, Cash ‘n Carry office products, sat down to relate the highly personal backstory to a scenario that has a south Culver City neighborhood in an uproar.
Even before Dan Israely spoke, however, the grassroots campaign may have been submarined.
Although the news does not seem generally known, the newspaper has learned there already is a so-called tower across the street, merely one of a reported “dozens” of such antennae throughout Culver City. A total was not immediately available from City Hall, but one insider estimated 40.
While Mr. Israely waved off worries expressed by neighbors as erroneous information, he explained that the deal he is attempting to finalize with the cell phone company T-Mobile is so valuable that it could stave off the store’s recession-threatened closure.
In a quiet corner of his business this afternoon, the owner of the office supply store stoutly maintained that the tower is not the size that has been rumored, and that it is a safe venture for the community.
What Peril?
Mr. Israely, who opened Cash ‘n Carry about 30 years ago, strenuously rejected the loudest protest by neighborhood activists, that an installation would imperil the health of persons near and also far.
“I think the celluar phone you put to your ear is much more dangerous than what we want to do,” he said “Nobody is going to be close to the ‘tower.’ It will be hundreds of feet from any neighbor.
“Every report I have read says that radiation from the tower does not cause cancer, has no effect whatsoever on people.
“If I were the least concerned, I would not do what I am doing. My office is directly under the ‘tower.’ I am about 4 feet away from it.
“If it really is dangerous, I am the one who should be most concerned. I am not.
“Next,” he said, “is size.
“Everybody is talking about a ‘tower’ on our roof. It is approximately 8 feet high. I don’t know of any ‘tower’ that is 8 feet high.”
Finally, it may not be widely known Mr. Israely is trying to save his store.
“Business is terrible,” he said. “The economy is bad. And we have tremendous competition from the big box stores that surround us.
“Every month when I look at the numbers, I don’t know if I can continue.
“(The deal with T-Mobile) may be the tipping point, whether I stay in business.
“To people who don’t understand the situation, this may sound a little ridiculous. We are talking about $2,000 (which T-Mobile would pay Cash ‘n Carry per month). Two thousand dollars is equivalent to $10,000 in sales.
“This is roughly, if we are lucky, what we do in a week now,” Mr. Israely said.
“If we can put that antenna on the roof, it is equivalent to one week in sales for our store, which will keep us in business a little bit longer.
“Personally,” Mr. Israely said, softly, “I am not a poor man. For the last year, I have been putting money into this store to keep it alive. I can’t do it very much longer.
“If we do close, personally I am not going to be hurt. But every single worker here will be.”
Mr. Israely employs 6 persons. “One lady,” he said, “is a single mother. One employee has a very sick wife and 3 children. Another has a sick wife and 2 children.
“Every one of my employees here needs this job badly. It is a matter of life and death.
“For the neighbors to say, ‘Hey, we don’t want this because it may cause some problems ’ — even though no one knows for sure, and I am convinced there is no danger — to put so many people out of work in this economy…” and his voice trailed off.
“I know they are not going to find another job. That is why I, personally, am putting money into the business.”
