The New York Office of the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau has sent a “pirate letter” to the owner of a mixed-use property in one of the five New York City boroughs.
The commission is investigating a complaint about an unlicensed broadcast, in June and November of last year as well as this past January, on 89.3 FM from Hampden Place in the University Heights neighborhood of the Bronx. That’s about two miles northeast of the George Washington Bridge.
Public records indicate that Hampden Realty owns the property, which is classified as a walk-up apartment with ground-floor stores. On-site notices identify Exclusive 1 Realty as the property manager. The FCC addressed the letter to both.
[Related: “Pirate Letters Were Sent to 41 Properties in 2024”]
The commission said that transmissions observed from the location exceeded its Part 15 rules.
The letter — issued under the 2020 PIRATE Act — requires a response within 10 days from both real estate companies, providing evidence they are no longer permitting the alleged illegal broadcast at the property.
The letter also requests identification of the individuals involved.
The PIRATE Act allows the FCC to issue a fine of up to approximately $2.5 million if, after the response period, the commission determines that pirate broadcasting is continuing from the property.
The New York City area is one of the well-known hotbeds for unlicensed broadcast activity.
An NYC reader identified 89.3 “Digital FM WDYM,” as a long-time unlicensed station operating from the Bronx. The 89.3 FM frequency in the Bronx has been targeted by the Enforcement Bureau in the past, but it is unknown if this operation is linked.
According to the commission’s records, 17 pirate letters have been sent to property owners so far in 2025.
(Read the Enforcement Bureau’s Notice of Illegal Pirate Radio Broadcasting.)
