WRCR

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This article is about the Haverstraw, New York radio station at 1700 AM. For the carrier current college radio station, see WRCR (college radio). For the radio station in Indiana formerly called WRCR, see WIFE-FM.
WRCR
Wrcr1700.png
CityHaverstraw, New York
Broadcast areaRockland County, New York
Frequency1700 kHz
BrandingAM 1700 Radio Rockland
Programming
FormatAdult Contemporary and News/Talk
Ownership
OwnerAlexander Broadcasting, Inc.
History
First air date
September 1, 1965 (56 years ago) (1965-09-01)
Former call signs
WRRC (1965-1968)
WKQW (1968-1977)
WGRC (1977-1987)
WLIR (1987-2000)
Former frequencies
1300 kHz (1965-2015)
Call sign meaning
W Rockland County Radio
Technical information
Facility ID64556
ClassB
Power10,000 watts daytime
1,000 watts nighttime
Transmitter coordinates
41°05′46.1″N 74°00′15.4″W / 41.096139°N 74.004278°W / 41.096139; -74.004278Coordinates: 41°05′46.1″N 74°00′15.4″W / 41.096139°N 74.004278°W / 41.096139; -74.004278
Links
Webcastlisten live
Websitewrcr.com

WRCR is a commercial AM radio station, licensed to Haverstraw, New York and serves Rockland County. WRCR broadcasts an adult contemporary music format with weekday news-talk shows. The station is owned by Alexander Broadcasting, Inc.[1][2] Studios and offices are at 144 Ramapo Road in Garnerville, New York, and the transmitter site is at South Mountain Park in the town of Haverstraw, New York.

Programming[]

WRCR is the only radio station providing English language news and information specifically for Rockland County, as WRKL 910 AM in nearby Pomona, New York, switched to an all-Polish format on March 19, 1999.[3]

The station airs a local morning talk show co-hosted by Steve Possell. Possell has been heard on Rockland's airwaves (previously on WRKL-New City, New York) for nearly 50 years. It also broadcasts New York Boulders minor league baseball games.

History[]

WRCR's roots date to September 1, 1965, when the station signed on as WRRC, daytime-only, on 1300 kHz. from Broadcast House on Route 59. The station used its original transmitter site in Nanuet, New York for 52 years, although a new tower was erected in 2015 for the operation at 1700 AM.

Move to 1700 AM[]

On March 17, 1997, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced that eighty-eight stations had been given permission to move to newly available "Expanded Band" transmitting frequencies, ranging from 1610 to 1700 kHz. One of the authorizations was for WZNN in Rochester, New Hampshire to move from 930 to 1700 kHz.[4] However, the 1700 AM operation was never built, and its Construction Permit was cancelled on December 22, 2000.[5]

The abandonment of the Rochester, New Hampshire assignment left 1700 AM unoccupied by any stations in the northeastern United States. Normally the FCC did not allow any stations not included in its May 17, 1997 authorization list to apply for operation on an expanded band frequency. However, in 2006, the commission granted a request allowing WRCR to move from 1300 to 1700 kHz, stating that a "waiver is warranted to permit the licensing of a station that could provide full-time local emergency radio service to Rockland County residents who would be at great risk in the event of a radiological emergency at the Indian Point facility".[6]

On July 13, 2015, WRCR moved from 1300 to 1700 kHz, increasing its power from 500 to 10,000 watts by day and adding night service at 1,000 watts. The higher power allowed the station to be heard over a wider area of the lower Hudson Valley and Northern New Jersey. Along with the facility upgrade, the station's City of License was changed from Spring Valley to Ramapo. Both are communities in Rockland County.

WRCR operated with the call letters WLIR, from late 1987 until 2000. WLIR had been the call letters for a famous and successful FM station operating in Garden City, New York. When the operator of that station lost their FCC license, they brought their WLIR callsign to this Rockland County station. In 2000, WLIR changed its callsign to WRCR.

Station goes silent/dispute with transmitter landowner[]

On August 7, 2017, WRCR management announced via the station's website[7] that the station would be off-the-air on its 1700 kHz frequency until further notice due to an emergency relocation of their transmitter and tower equipment. On August 29, 2017 Alexander Broadcasting Inc. filed a "Notice of Suspension of Operations" with the FCC[8] seeking consent to go silent on the 1700 kHz frequency. It stated that the owner of the land where WRCR's transmitter and tower was located had opted not to renew the station's lease, and that the landlord had the power and other vital utilities to the property shut off without notifying the station. In the notice on their website, WRCR management stated that they would continue to broadcast via the live stream on their website and also via the TuneIn app and Amazon Echo devices.

The station resumed radio broadcasting on April 27, 2019, from a new transmitter site in South Mountain Park in the town of Haverstraw, New York. The station was authorized to move its community of license to Haverstraw effective October 21, 2021.

References[]

  1. ^ "WRCR Facility Record". United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division.
  2. ^ "WRCR Station Information Profile". Arbitron.
  3. ^ "WRKL Back - In Polish".
  4. ^ "FCC Public Notice: Mass Media Bureau Announces Revised AM Expanded Band Allotment Plan and Filing Window for Eligible Stations" (FCC DA 97-537), March 17, 1997.
  5. ^ "Station Search Details (DWAYU)". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved February 16, 2010.
  6. ^ "In The Matter of Alexander Broadcasting, Inc." (FCC 06-125), Adopted: August 17, 2006, Released: August 22, 2006, pages 9968-9973.
  7. ^ WRCR temporary shutdown notice (Retrieved September 29, 2017, via wrcr.com website)
  8. ^ Alexander Broadcasting Inc. licensee of WRCR (Facility ID: 64556) filed a Notice of Suspension of Operations (Retrieved September 29, 2017, via FCC.gov website)

External links[]

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