Management planning is for people: Painful, yet educational, surprises greet the engineering planner as he takes his ideas to the public

The long-range telephone planner is responsible for formulating the plans for expanded facilities, and for helping to obtain governmental permission to build them. In New York City, for instance, planning engineers responsible for telephone exchange buildings must get a variance-to-build from the New York Board of Standards and Appeals (BS&A). They are also required to inform all home owners within 500 feet of the building site, and must have the approval of the local Community District Planning Board. The narrative that follows is a composite of many recent experiences of long-range telephone planners in the New York City area.