New York City Tri-State Area Rooftop Cell Site Landlords,
Thanks for stopping by. Please let me know how we can help answer any of your questions. To book a free, no-obligation call with me, please fill out and submit the Contact Form on this page, and we can hop on a phone call or Zoom call.
Tower Genius LLC is a leading independent, carrier-neutral, 100% landlord-oriented cell tower lease consulting and advisory firm with deep roots in the Greater New York City Tri-State Area. We provide timely, accurate information for New York City / Tri-State Area building owners who are cell site landlords to help them make sound decisions when dealing with “Big Wireless”. My name is Steve Kazella. My business partner Kevin Donohue and I have over 50 years of combined experience in the wireless infrastructure industry — see our bio’s below.
What’s going on with your NY Metro Area Verizon, AT&T or T-Mobile rooftop cell site?
We help building owners and their attorneys, condominium boards, property managers and commercial real estate brokers with just about any question that may arise regarding rooftop T-Mobile, AT&T or Verizon Wireless cell site installations on their rooftops or about cell site lease agreements, leveling the playing field when dealing with “Big Wireless”.
*Don’t miss our important industry update below.
How Can We Help You?
Do you have questions about your rooftop Verizon Wireless, AT&T or T-Mobile cell site or cell site lease in Manhattan, The Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, Hudson, Union, Essex, Bergen, Passaic, Morris, Somerset, Monmouth, Rockland, Westchester, Nassau or Fairfield County?
Do you need help with your rooftop cell site lease or cell tower lease agreement?
Do you have questions about selling your cell site or cell tower lease rental stream and giving a third-party an easement on your building in exchange for a lump sum or installment payment?
Is the Verizon, AT&T or T-Mobile cell site lease buyout offer that you have been given a good offer, or are you leaving money on the table? Do you have questions about lease renewal rates, fair market rent values, intimidating rent reduction proposals you have received?
Is your carrier tenant proposing to upgrade or relocate the equipment? Do you need to replace your rooftop?
Do you need to temporarily relocate the carriers on your rooftop?
Are you having problems with carrier contractors or subcontractors at your building?
Let’s Connect Today!
We would like to help answer your questions, provide expert guidance and solutions. While my Business Partner at Tower Genius LLC, Kevin F. Donohue and I have spoken with thousands of cell site landlords, property managers and their attorneys over the past three decades, chances are we haven’t connected with you yet. Our goal is to provide you with the kind of value that nobody else in our industry will give you with nothing to buy or commit to.
Read our important 5G update for NYC Metro rooftop landlords below.
Ignore Our 2026 Industry Update At Your Own Risk
We believe that are some “big changes” coming to the wireless industry that are not just coming soon, they are already here right now.
This has nothing to do with Elon Musk’s low-orbit satellites, and everything to do with how the wireless industry, namely Verizon Wireless, AT&T and T-Mobile have successfully lobbied in Washington DC to change policy and now have the ability to install 5G (and eventually 6G) antenna nodes (small cells) in public right of ways where there is fiber trenched underground, and they only have to pay $270 annually in rent to the city or county. And they have been taking full advantage of this opportunity all over New York City and beyond.
What happens to cell site landlords in the densely populated urban areas like Brooklyn, Manhattan, The Bronx and Queens where for argument’s sake, “ten small cells” paying a total of $2,700 per year in rent or license fees could replace one “macro cell site” like the one on the rooftop of your building or property? We believe that this will eventually have an impact on rents and values when enough 5G and 6G antenna nodes are installed. It’s simple math really. And musical chairs. We just don’t know exactly when the music stops for the cell site rental gravy train in the USA’s #1 wireless market, the Greater New York City – New Jersey Metropolitan Area.
Are cell towers going away? Probably never in our lifetime.
What does the future hold for the rent values of cell sites in very densely urban areas like New York City where the carriers on your rooftop have the ability to install 5G small cell nodes near street level for only $270 per year?
And if there is a risk of disruptive technology changes, why are Wireless Infrastructure “lease buyout” companies still offering six and seven-figure cash payouts in exchange for easements on building rooftops if rents are potentially at risk?
Glad you asked. We need to talk!
Please fill out the contact form on this page to get in touch with me. Thank you.
Best Regards,
Steve
Stephen L. Kazella, Managing Partner
Tower Genius, LLC
4771 Bayou Blvd. STE 228
Pensacola, FL 32503
Why Work With Tower Genius?
- There’s a strong likelihood that we can answer all of your cell site lease questions and solve most or all of your cell tower lease related problems.
- We have been advising cell site landlords exclusively for over 18 years.
- We’re an experienced company you can trust
- We work exclusively for cell site landlords and have no conflicts of interest.
- Kevin and Steve have 50+ years of combined cell tower industry experience.
- And we’re the kind of people you’d feel comfortable inviting to family dinner.
About Us: Tower Genius’ Partner Bios
Kevin F. Donohue
Managing Partner
Kevin is a Westchester County, NY-based telecom infrastructure professional who has held various executive positions with both major Fortune 500 wireless telecom firms as well as developing multi-million dollar consulting firms that have serviced the top names in the telecommunications industry throughout the United States. He has a proven track record of successfully taking small start-up companies and finding the right strategic partners and joint ventures to assist in sustained growth and profitability. He is one of the top experts in both the Wireless Telecom Infrastructure Industry as well as the Vertical Real Estate Business.
His expertise has been sought by major publications such as the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Crain’s NY Business, and the Gannett Newspapers regarding changing market trends in wireless infrastructure as well as writing municipal codes that are used nationwide. Mr. Donohue is a graduate of Iona College, with a Degree in Marketing with concentrations in Finance and Psychology.
Kevin Donohue began his wireless infrastructure career in 1987, working for Nynex Mobile where he held numerous Management and Executive positions in the Network Implementation Group including being responsible for the Real Estate, Zoning, Construction, and Equipment Engineering Departments for the New York Metro area. In this capacity, Kevin was responsible for the deployment of all cell sites in New York and Northern New Jersey. Kevin was also a leader of the Nynex Mobile Emergency Response Team. Kevin has built networks for Verizon, T-Mobile, Bell South Mobility, Cricket, and Sprint PCS, and handled setting up emergency cell phone coverage to assist rescue personnel in times of emergencies.
Donohue formed Integrated Wireless Alliance (IWA) in 1996 to meet the growing needs of the new wireless carriers that were looking to implement their networks. Kevin has built networks for Verizon, T-Mobile, Bell South Mobility, Cricket and Sprint PCS throughout the United States. In addition, IWA was contracted to work with many Fortune 500 companies to assist them with various wireless projects including Shell Oil where IWA was the industry expert in a $56 Million lawsuit that was successfully defended due to IWA’s expertise.
Stephen L. Kazella
Partner & Founder
Steve is the founder of Tower Genius LLC based in Pensacola, Florida. He is a telecommunications professional who specializes in cell site landlord advisory, transactional coaching, technical lease analysis, cell site lease valuations, rooftop cell site lease compliance, real estate site acquisition and rooftop easement valuations and easement transactional advisory. Steve worked in Budapest, Hungary for 6 years, and during his service with Habitat for Humanity International as an International Partner developed new Habitat affiliates throughout Hungary. He is a fluent Hungarian speaker and has interpreted for President Jimmy Carter, the US Secret Service, and multiple NGOs and Multinational Corporate CEOs in Hungary and Central Europe. Mr. Kazella has been quoted in The New York Times and multiple publications on matters pertaining to rooftop cell sites and the cell tower industry and graduated from Montclair State College with a BS Degree in 1993.
After being recruited from Enterprise Rent A Car, Kazella joined IWA in 2000 as a Real Estate Project Manager, providing consulting services for Sprint PCS in Westchester, Rockland, and Putnam Counties, for Verizon Wireless in Bronx, Queens, and Manhattan, and T-Mobile in Northern New Jersey, Orange, and Ulster Counties. Steve was responsible for the identification, procurement, reporting, and initial zoning coordination for wireless communication sites involving Radio Frequency and Architectural Engineers, Construction Managers and Attorneys, and staffing of outsourced telecommunications projects.
Under the supervision of Mr. Donohue, Steve conducted wireless infrastructure site surveys on 95 sites in San Diego and Houston. Between 2000-2002, Steve negotiated over 100 cell tower leases in the New York Metropolitan area worth between $600,000 and $2,000,000 each in leased value, managing sites from initial search and negotiation through site design, environmental assessment, zoning, through construction.
Donohue & Kazella: WTC 9/11 Emergency Response
Steve Kazella on rooftop overlooking WTC site on 09/14/2001.
Partners of Tower Genius supported FEMA and New York’s leading cellular carrier in directing, organizing and implementing emergency recovery and critical disaster response efforts immediately following the 9/11 attack on New York City.
Tower Genius’ owners spearheaded the deployment of 36 portable cellular sites (COWS = cell on wheels) by September 14th , 2001. We were also responsible for coordinating temporary power and the telco microwave backhaul needed to run all existing temporary cell sites in Downtown Manhattan. Our pro-bono services provided FEMA and the all NYC assets, Federal Agencies and Emergency Responders an essential communication system during this unprecedented time in American history.
About Tower Genius’ Evolution
In 2006, Kevin Donohue and Steve Kazella began providing wireless telecommunications leasing services to municipalities, as they observed Town Attorneys, Mayors, and Supervisors struggle to craft a wireless bid or maximize values on municipal property. Later, Kazella and Donohue saw an even bigger opportunity to provide wireless lease consulting services to property owners and landlords in addition to municipalities, founding Airwave Management LLC in 2009.
Today, Tower Genius, LLC is the leading carrier-neutral cell site landlord advisory and consulting firm exclusively servicing property owners, landlords, and municipalities across the United States. Kevin and Steve’s backgrounds having worked in-house and later as subcontractors for cellular carriers to build out entire wireless networks, their knowledge of leasing cell sites on the carrier side, and now on the Owner side, along with owning and managing their own towers, give them the well-rounded understanding of the ins and outs of the wireless leasing industry that others simply do not have.
Need a second opinion on a NYC Tri-State Area rooftop cell site lease proposal?
In 2006, Kevin Donohue and Steve Kazella began providing wireless telecommunications leasing services to municipalities, as they observed Town Attorneys, Mayors, and Supervisors struggle to craft a wireless bid or maximize values on municipal property. Later, Kazella and Donohue saw an even bigger opportunity to provide wireless lease consulting services to property owners and landlords in addition to municipalities, founding Airwave Management LLC in 2009.
Today, Tower Genius, LLC is the leading carrier-neutral cell site landlord advisory and consulting firm exclusively servicing property owners, landlords, and municipalities across the United States. Kevin and Steve’s backgrounds having worked in-house and later as subcontractors for cellular carriers to build out entire wireless networks, their knowledge of leasing cell sites on the carrier side, and now on the Owner side, along with owning and managing their own towers, give them the well-rounded understanding of the ins and outs of the wireless leasing industry that others simply do not have.