Actor Richard Gere who has been out of the limelight for some time is now ruffling feathers due to the fact that he has backed the building of a new cell tower in the town of Bedford, creating angry wealthy residents such as Jerry Seinfeld’s sister, to speak out.
Gere, who co-owns the Bedford Post Inn in Westchester County with real estate developer Russell Hernandez, has offered a part of their 14-acre estate for a 130-foot cellphone tower. The tower is said to fill in gaps and communications for emergency responders in one of America’s richest enclaves.
If approved, the site would settle a lawsuit filed by Verizon after the Bedford Planning Board rejected two previous proposed sites.
However, angry locals including NFL “royal” Kathleen Rooney Mara, are not happy over the looming tower.
Mara, whose family owns the Pittsburgh Steelers, has lived in Bedford for over 39 years with her husband Chris Mara, and has described her home as “magical” in a Nov. 21 email to the planning board.
“In the winter I have a gorgeous vista,” the email stated. “And I look forward to it every year. Now I’ll be looking at an ugly tower that will soon be obsolete if the location is approved.”
Mara is seeking a “less intrusive” cell tower according to The Post, who said the structure will most likely be replaced by satellites in the future anyway.
“I don’t understand why they would want to have it there,” Mara said speaking of the proposed site at the Bedford Post Inn. “Isn’t that how everybody is? Like, not in my backyard or whatever, you know?”
As reported by the New York Post,
“In July 2021, Verizon filed a lawsuit against the town of Bedford, challenging its denial of two previous proposed sites for the tower. The company claims a location must be found to fill the cell coverage gaps, according to a mandate by the Federal Telecommunications Act.”
Simultaneously, Roxanne Spruance, Gere’s own executive chef and co-owner of the Bedford Post Inn’s Michelin-rated bistro, The Barn, is accusing her boss and his partner of conspiring with the town’s supervisor Ellen Calves of benefitting from an exchange in the town’s battle to settle Verizon’s lawsuit.
Spruance, 38, alleged at a Dec. 5 planning board meeting that Gere and Hernandez saw their long undecided expansion plans for the hotel suddenly approved in late September. The plans will allow Gere and Hernandez to build 10 additional guest rooms, a pool, and a spa at the property where king deluxe suites cost $1,075 per night on weekends.
“I just want to make it very clear that the restaurant and the hotel are very separate,” Spruance told the Bedford Planning Board. “The actions of my landlords in thinking this was a good idea with Ellen is completely separate from my wishes [and] desires as a business owner.”
The Bedford Planning Board will continue its review of Verizon’s proposal to build at 954 Old Post Road at another public hearing.
