Even if you have a 1kW transmitter, the ERP going vertical only with an antenna of some gain will be in the region of 3kW. Not what I want in my treetop in my back yard, or the neighbor's yard either.
That kind of power is a hazard to the public. No way they did measurements to make sure the levels were below the threshold for public exposure in a non-controlled access space. Just stupid to think that it was okay to do that and there would be no consequences.
When's the next ship going to drop anchor and do some real pirate radio? Oh yeah, last time that happened the Feds showed up and chopped up all the equipment.
Again, the simple solution to ALL of this is for those boobs to LMA or at least purchase a good amount of airtime on WILD. Okay, it's not FM, but hey, it's legal. And you can't always get what you want, said some band I heard once... but if you try sometimes, you just might find, you get what you need....