In the 1980s New York enacted statutory provisions empowering the State regulatory commission to set compensation for installation of cable equipment. In 1982, the validity of the regulations was upheld by the United States Supreme Court, in a case known as Loretto v. Teleprompter. On remand from the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals ruled that while the installaiton of cable equipment is a constitutional "taking" of property, the State can set compensation at $1 because access to cable television is an important excercise of State police power.
In 1995, the State enacted Public Service Law (PSL) Sec. 228 in order to guarantee tenants access to cable television. PSL Sec. 228 requires building owners to permit access to "any franchised cable providers" to install cable television equipment. This means that City property owners must allow Verizon, Time Warner and any other franchised City cable operator to install cable equipment in their buildings. The PSL only applies to cable television, and requires cable companies to disclose the manner in which the cable equipment will be installed and to disclose that owners may commence a proceeding for compensation if they can prove that their property will be damaged as a result of the installation.