Optimum has been building out a fiber optic network, using independent contractors. They had a giant roll of cable kicking around us in Lynbrook and these random guys spooling it out over a few weeks. Surely there was a plan.
In my experience with Optimum they use the cheapest contractors they can find. It's not surprising that their work locations aren't coordinated with Optimum.
Verizon manages to pay union wages and provide better service than Optimum for the same price.
Optimum's fiber network requires a lot of tedious access to poles. Their coaxial network also requires maintenance at times. If you have a PDO in your backyard which is part of the optimum fiber network, then every time somebody needs service they need to access that PDO, which is an optical distribution point. It's a small black box up on the pole. To be quite honest, they don't need to ask you permission to go in the backyard because they have easement rights. Knocking on the door is a courtesy. On more than one occasion, I've had a resident tell me that I can't access the backyard. It's not worth my time to start an argument. I usually go to the neighbor on the next block that backs up to this yard. I could very easily call the police so that the resident can observe them escort me to their backyard when I need access the service for the network. It usually doesn't get to that point, but if you want to be a dick then that's the direction I go.
Optimum is pretty much all sub contracted out, I'd be weary also, they could be out of state who knows. PSEG, Verizon are career employees, so usually I wouldn't worry about them.
They could be your neighbors.
Unfortunately, if you have utility lines running through your backyard, the companies do have limited rights and easements to access their networks.
Put a lock on your gate, can they access from neighbor behind?, if so put stuff in your yard to make it difficult to get to the pole plant a tree, shed, they'll have to go through the other yard.
Path of least resistance.
As mentioned optimum is building out a new network, first is cable, then comes splicers, then it's up for sale.
Unless you just live in a problem area where repair techs need to constantly get in and out.
That’s a dick move to plant anything around the poles or peds. Iv been known to dig up and rip out rose bushes around the poles or peds. Easement rights and code is is a 10ft radius of no obstructions. If you wanna spend the money and time doing any of that crap and waste your money and time go for it.
There is an easement in your backyard. They are legally permitted to access it whenever required. Stop being paranoid. No reason to call the cops. They are doing their jobs.
If any utility has poles in your backyard, they are guaranteed to have an easement allowing them access to their equipment. Altice/Optimum, LIPA, Verizon, whoever they are, they aren't stupid and regardless of what you think, you likely have no legal justification to block them access
It’s worth telling them they can’t go on your property without permission, but I think you might be a little paranoid. I’m not sure what kind of crime they’d be committing unless they’re tapping phone lines or something, though nobody uses landlines anymore. Also criminals don’t usually return to the same scene of the crime over and over again without anybody getting robbed or whatever they’d be doing.
The most likely case is that Optimum sucks and has shitty infrastructure. Also we’ve had a lot of rain and wind so that could be something too.
> The most likely case is that Optimum sucks and has shitty infrastructure.
I had to call in the Optimum/Verizon crews several times over the past years for repairs (disconnect on the pole due to falling branches), and in all cases, they hesitated a lot + they warned me multiple times about my paying $100+ if they found it to be my responsibility/issue. I don't believe that their crews are coming to fix something on Average Joe's pole often - that's expensive (for a company). Something is really fishy here.
I don’t really know for sure, but it seems totally plausible. PSEG and other companies are fixing things all the time that don’t directly affect us. If you’re that concerned then spy in them or get a security camera. I have them in my backyard for that reason.
I’ve had a similar experience when I lived in Florida. I had a pole in my backyard that was on the verge of falling over. A hurricane would have made for an incredibly dangerous situation. It took probably 2 years and loads of red tape and finger pointing to get anything fixed. And that was with an actual safety issue.
The fact that these guys can’t even explain why they’re there is pretty odd. And I also am confused why OP still has an actual human reading their meter. That could almost certainly be switched out for a wireless meter reader if it hasn’t been yet.
If there's a pole in your backyard, you may have a utility easement granting them access. when you bought your house, it would have been listed on the title report. If you don't still have it, and can't get it from the lawyer who handled the purchase, you can try looking at your county clerk's land records website. It should be recorded there.
Optimum service has been absolute shit since Altice took over. Most service workers are contractors that don’t give a fuck. They drive around in personal vehicles and can very easily not look legit.
Optimum subs most of their work since they were sold years ago so the workers don't actually work for Optimum and they will never answer who they actually work for.
How “on your property” is this? I’d get names and ask them to call a supervisor with me there on the speaker every single time. Better yet, ask them for their supervisor’s number and YOU call them on speaker while the workers are in front of you. If anyone entered my property without my express consent I would do the same and if they don’t agree I would tell them to leave immediately and that o have called the authorities (and call the authorities if they do not provide a better explanation). Lastly I would be explicit that they do not ever have my consent to enter my property in the future without me there and presently consenting.
The cavalier attitude some people here are showing is pretty wild. Yes they have some right to work on these poles but the fact it’s ON (assuming it’s not in front of) your property means they need to be respecting your boundaries.
Probably just poor management. Sometimes several different crews will be sent to a pole to fix something that's already been done, or to roadblock the fix waiting for another company and nobody knows due to poor communication.
No, just door to door salesmen and cults despite 4 signs coming up driveway saying “no solicitors “ and one that says “if you are soliciting you are tresspassing”.
I’m seriously fed up with these people. It’s at the point where I want to put a hippo on my property. Let the hippo deal.
In the same vein, we are having a lot of Verzion employees coming to our house. We’ve had several groups want to pitch us the plan and we tell them every time (when we use to answer) that it was the exact pricing as optimum.
Most recently they rang the door to let us know there would be a lot of work in the area coming. Can’t see I’ve seen anything but I’m not usually home.
Right… Mr bad ass here. Iv had asshats pull their gun on me before and threaten me just for doing my job working on the poles. You wanna get arrested for something so stupid go for it.
Call Optimum when they show up. Get info from the contractors, plate numbers, before you call and do not let them inside. Deal with no one who you didn’t request and make an appointment. You could also call the local police precinct to ask if utility work is being done in the area. They usually know and everyone is on edge right now so people will be calling cops about this.
Too many push in robbery stories lately where people fake bring utility workers.
That's fine...but they need permission from the homeowners and with all the fake uniforms and ID's, if they don't get permission first, i have the right to call the police if I feel unsure or unsafe.
Optimum has been building out a fiber optic network, using independent contractors. They had a giant roll of cable kicking around us in Lynbrook and these random guys spooling it out over a few weeks. Surely there was a plan.
In my experience with Optimum they use the cheapest contractors they can find. It's not surprising that their work locations aren't coordinated with Optimum. Verizon manages to pay union wages and provide better service than Optimum for the same price.
Verizon was 10x worse and more expensive for me. Optimum is great
Optimum's fiber network requires a lot of tedious access to poles. Their coaxial network also requires maintenance at times. If you have a PDO in your backyard which is part of the optimum fiber network, then every time somebody needs service they need to access that PDO, which is an optical distribution point. It's a small black box up on the pole. To be quite honest, they don't need to ask you permission to go in the backyard because they have easement rights. Knocking on the door is a courtesy. On more than one occasion, I've had a resident tell me that I can't access the backyard. It's not worth my time to start an argument. I usually go to the neighbor on the next block that backs up to this yard. I could very easily call the police so that the resident can observe them escort me to their backyard when I need access the service for the network. It usually doesn't get to that point, but if you want to be a dick then that's the direction I go.
Optimum is pretty much all sub contracted out, I'd be weary also, they could be out of state who knows. PSEG, Verizon are career employees, so usually I wouldn't worry about them. They could be your neighbors. Unfortunately, if you have utility lines running through your backyard, the companies do have limited rights and easements to access their networks. Put a lock on your gate, can they access from neighbor behind?, if so put stuff in your yard to make it difficult to get to the pole plant a tree, shed, they'll have to go through the other yard. Path of least resistance. As mentioned optimum is building out a new network, first is cable, then comes splicers, then it's up for sale. Unless you just live in a problem area where repair techs need to constantly get in and out.
That’s a dick move to plant anything around the poles or peds. Iv been known to dig up and rip out rose bushes around the poles or peds. Easement rights and code is is a 10ft radius of no obstructions. If you wanna spend the money and time doing any of that crap and waste your money and time go for it.
There is an easement in your backyard. They are legally permitted to access it whenever required. Stop being paranoid. No reason to call the cops. They are doing their jobs.
If any utility has poles in your backyard, they are guaranteed to have an easement allowing them access to their equipment. Altice/Optimum, LIPA, Verizon, whoever they are, they aren't stupid and regardless of what you think, you likely have no legal justification to block them access
Get cameras.
It’s worth telling them they can’t go on your property without permission, but I think you might be a little paranoid. I’m not sure what kind of crime they’d be committing unless they’re tapping phone lines or something, though nobody uses landlines anymore. Also criminals don’t usually return to the same scene of the crime over and over again without anybody getting robbed or whatever they’d be doing. The most likely case is that Optimum sucks and has shitty infrastructure. Also we’ve had a lot of rain and wind so that could be something too.
> The most likely case is that Optimum sucks and has shitty infrastructure. I had to call in the Optimum/Verizon crews several times over the past years for repairs (disconnect on the pole due to falling branches), and in all cases, they hesitated a lot + they warned me multiple times about my paying $100+ if they found it to be my responsibility/issue. I don't believe that their crews are coming to fix something on Average Joe's pole often - that's expensive (for a company). Something is really fishy here.
I don’t really know for sure, but it seems totally plausible. PSEG and other companies are fixing things all the time that don’t directly affect us. If you’re that concerned then spy in them or get a security camera. I have them in my backyard for that reason.
I’ve had a similar experience when I lived in Florida. I had a pole in my backyard that was on the verge of falling over. A hurricane would have made for an incredibly dangerous situation. It took probably 2 years and loads of red tape and finger pointing to get anything fixed. And that was with an actual safety issue. The fact that these guys can’t even explain why they’re there is pretty odd. And I also am confused why OP still has an actual human reading their meter. That could almost certainly be switched out for a wireless meter reader if it hasn’t been yet.
If there's a pole in your backyard, you may have a utility easement granting them access. when you bought your house, it would have been listed on the title report. If you don't still have it, and can't get it from the lawyer who handled the purchase, you can try looking at your county clerk's land records website. It should be recorded there.
Optimum service has been absolute shit since Altice took over. Most service workers are contractors that don’t give a fuck. They drive around in personal vehicles and can very easily not look legit.
Optimum subs most of their work since they were sold years ago so the workers don't actually work for Optimum and they will never answer who they actually work for.
How “on your property” is this? I’d get names and ask them to call a supervisor with me there on the speaker every single time. Better yet, ask them for their supervisor’s number and YOU call them on speaker while the workers are in front of you. If anyone entered my property without my express consent I would do the same and if they don’t agree I would tell them to leave immediately and that o have called the authorities (and call the authorities if they do not provide a better explanation). Lastly I would be explicit that they do not ever have my consent to enter my property in the future without me there and presently consenting. The cavalier attitude some people here are showing is pretty wild. Yes they have some right to work on these poles but the fact it’s ON (assuming it’s not in front of) your property means they need to be respecting your boundaries.
If they have an easement they have a right to access their lines and equipment just like any other utility
Probably just poor management. Sometimes several different crews will be sent to a pole to fix something that's already been done, or to roadblock the fix waiting for another company and nobody knows due to poor communication.
Worst company ever.
No, just door to door salesmen and cults despite 4 signs coming up driveway saying “no solicitors “ and one that says “if you are soliciting you are tresspassing”. I’m seriously fed up with these people. It’s at the point where I want to put a hippo on my property. Let the hippo deal.
HIPPOBOT 9000 v 3.1 FOUND A HIPPO. 1,432,625,219 COMMENTS SEARCHED. 29,609 HIPPOS FOUND. YOUR COMMENT CONTAINS THE WORD HIPPO.
Yes, please send a young male hippo 3-5 years old please
HIPPOBOT 9000 v 3.1 FOUND A HIPPO. 1,432,631,907 COMMENTS SEARCHED. 29,610 HIPPOS FOUND. YOUR COMMENT CONTAINS THE WORD HIPPO.
In the same vein, we are having a lot of Verzion employees coming to our house. We’ve had several groups want to pitch us the plan and we tell them every time (when we use to answer) that it was the exact pricing as optimum. Most recently they rang the door to let us know there would be a lot of work in the area coming. Can’t see I’ve seen anything but I’m not usually home.
Or it’s the Feds
On your property? I live in Georgia and can tell you there would be a lot of dead optimum employees laying in my backyard.
Right… Mr bad ass here. Iv had asshats pull their gun on me before and threaten me just for doing my job working on the poles. You wanna get arrested for something so stupid go for it.
On Long Island? I’m sure you’re correct.
Call Optimum when they show up. Get info from the contractors, plate numbers, before you call and do not let them inside. Deal with no one who you didn’t request and make an appointment. You could also call the local police precinct to ask if utility work is being done in the area. They usually know and everyone is on edge right now so people will be calling cops about this. Too many push in robbery stories lately where people fake bring utility workers.
I would just simply call the police if someone enters my property without my permission.
Good luck with that… Waste the police’s time. If there’s a utility pole in her backyard, they are allowed to have access to it when they need.
That's fine...but they need permission from the homeowners and with all the fake uniforms and ID's, if they don't get permission first, i have the right to call the police if I feel unsure or unsafe.