BOCA RATON, Fla. — A Boca Raton man who waited two months for a dangerously leaning utility pole to be removed from his property finally has a solution.
Mike Crowley said a tall wooden pole leaning into his backyard was barely standing and loose enough to sway in the wind. He worried it would fall and hit his roof, but despite reaching out to FPL and AT&T several times to get it replaced, he had no answers for months.
"It’s tall enough that it’s gonna reach the canopy or the roof and do some severe damage," Crowley said. "I would say $100,000 worth of damage. They’ve been saying they're coming for two months, so far, I don’t have a date on the calendar. Several people who have been out here to look at the pole and acknowledge it’s dangerous, but no one’s been out here to fix it."
Crowley said the pole was all he could think about, and he turned to WPTV for answers.
"Can’t take my eye off, because I’m just waiting for it to come down," Crowley told Victor Jorges.
He also expressed concern for his family's safety.
"Hurricane season is right around the corner and I’m very nervous about this pole that’s basically held up by a fence," Crowley said. "We have grandchildren that are here playing all the time in the backyard and I just find it a very dangerous situation."
Crowley said he had a hard time getting answers and getting AT&T to make the repairs.
I reached out to AT&T to ask for more details on Crowley's case and when he could expect the repairs. Less than 24 hours after my first email to the company, crews delivered a new utility pole and began working at Crowley's house.
"I don't know if you reached out to AT&T but they showed up at my house this morning, miraculously, after months of non-response," Crowley said in a voicemail.
Crews on the ground said it is a television pole and replacing it should only take about an hour.
Crowley said the pole has been replaced, but now it has to be rewired.
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