Brooklyn radio fans are fighting a pirate invasion — demanding a crackdown on illicit Caribbean, Hebrew and shock-jock stations hijacking the airwaves.
Dozens of unlicensed shows operate in New York City on an average evening and the state is home to 25 percent of the nation's pirate transmissions, according to the FCC.
But many radio amateurs aren't forced to walk the plank. Instead, they find new hideaways for their equipment as FCC budget cuts decrease enforcement.
There were 46 FCC field actions in New York City in 2013, compared to just 20 through July 31 of this year, government data show.
Ike Hull of Sunset Park launched Brooklyn Pirate Watch, a Twitter feed — @BkPirateWatch — to track rogue radio transmissions.
"I'm fascinated by the pirates," Hull said. "Especially . . . their ability to get support from advertisers who . . . don't care that they're advertising on illegal stations."
Hall has clocked one pirate at 94.3 FM, where a host shouted for female listeners to tune in while wearing lingerie. There's also Radyo Independans, a Haitian Creole station squatting on 90.9 FM, according to Jersey City indie station WFMU — which claims its legal broadcasts at 91.1 FM are often interrupted by its illicit rival.
I'm fascinated by the pirates… Especially . . . their ability to get support from advertisers who . . . don't care that they're advertising on illegal stations." - Ike Hull, @BkPirateWatch
A Radyo staffer denied stealing frequencies.
"We mostly function on the Web," he said.
Pirates are going strong because the radio tools are cheap and their audiences are often "way less wired," WFMU general manager Ken Freedman said.
All a pirate needs are an FM radio transmitter, an antenna, a programming source — usually a computer — and cables. Pirates can evade the FCC by moving the transmitter from one building to another.
One admitted pirate, the Rev. Jerry Bowen, told The Post his listeners won't ditch the dial. Bowen, 48, ran Miracle Radio in an East Flatbush studio for two years until the FCC came knocking this summer.
"They were trying to catch me for a long time," said Bowen, a minister at Guiding Light Pentecostal Assemblies in Brooklyn who claims he's quitting the illegal-broadcast business.
"I don't do it for the money," he said. "The FCC man told me what I'm doing is illegal. I said, 'All I'm doing is spreading the good word.' "
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