By Dana Williams
The decision made the village one of 69 communities in New York that has recently approved a cable franchise agreement with Verizon New York Inc.
³We are thrilled to be able to bring FiOS TV to residents in Malverne,² Monica Azare, Verizon¹s senior vice president for New York and Connecticut, said in a statement. ³As a result of this franchise, consumers ... will be able to choose their cable provider as easily as they choose their phone company.²
Verizon representatives initially approached the village with the proposition of becoming a cable carrier last year, when Anthony Panzarella was mayor, village officials said. Negotiations with the company began in earnest after Mayor Patricia Ann McDonald¹s administration took office in March.
Over the past eight months, members of Malverne¹s Cable Television Committee have held more than 20 meetings with Verizon representatives, trying to construct a deal that would benefit Malverne residents. ³The meetings were very informative ... and there were a lot of thorough questions that were brought up and that needed to be evaluated,² said Trustee Michael T. Bailey, who served as the trustee liaison to the cable committee. ³We wanted to make sure that we had an agreement that is the best for Malverne.²
The meetings, which were held at Village Hall, included representatives from Verizon FiOS¹s competitor, Cablevision, and the New York State Public Service Commission. At the public hearing, attorney Peter Bee spoke on behalf of Cablevision, saying that it welcomes Verizon FiOS as a competitor in Malverne.
To make sure the agreement was right for the village, Bailey said, officials from places such as Garden City, Floral Park and Lynbrook, who have all approved agreements with Verizon FiOS, were invited to attend some of the meetings. ³We included representatives from other municipalities in our meetings ... and that provided us with a great deal of help,² Bailey added. ³Residents should be assured that this committee worked all these months to protect their interests and develop an agreement that provides them with a choice for cable television.²
By accepting the cable agreement, which will be finalized after it is reviewed by the New York State Public Service Commission, village officials have given residents the option of receiving Verizon¹s FiOS service. It offers customers a ³broad collection of all-digital programming, 28 high-definition channels in the New York market and access to more than 10,000 on-demand titles, among other features,² according to Verizon¹s Web site.
Malverne TV 18, the village¹s government-access channel, will also benefit from the Verizon deal with a $175,000 grant, some of which will be used to purchase new production equipment for the station. ³We will also be receiving money from Verizon specifically earmarked for equipment upgrades,² said Stephen Canzoneri, the village¹s technical and equipment manager, ³which includes the capability to broadcast in high definition, and building a tech center in Village Hall.²
At the hearing, it was announced that Malverne TV 18, which is currently provided to residents as a courtesy by the village and Cablevision, would still be accessible to residents who choose to become Verizon FiOS TV customers. The station will also get an additional $3,000 community grant from Verizon, and village officials plan to use the money to install a television in a public building, where residents can watch TV 18 programming.
³Cablevision has a production studio in Lynbrook that our village is allowed to use, for example, and Verizon doesn¹t have similar things like that,² explained Richard Sheehan, the cable committee¹s chairman. ³The company had to make up for those kinds of things in cash, and that¹s how part of the grants came about.²
Resident Barbara Patton, who helped advance negotiations between Verizon and the village as a consultant for Verizon, said at the hearing that competition works and that Verizon embraces that idea, because it gives customers options. Members of the village Board of Trustees shared similar sentiments, saying that approving the cable franchise agreement with Verizon was about providing residents with a choice.
It was welcomed by many. ³I have Verizon FiOS telephone and Internet, and I¹m absolutely interested in getting the FiOS TV as well,² said resident Liz Garvey. ³Residents need to have options ... and I¹m glad that this service will be available in Malverne.²
Bailey said that 98 percent of the village is wired to receive Verizon FiOS TV, and there is only one building that needs to be made accessible. Officials anticipate that the agreement will be approved by the New York State Public Service Commission at its Dec. 12 meeting.
Comments about this story? DWilliams@ liherald.com or (516) 569-400 ext. 282.
