By JOSEPH KELLARD
Metro PCS wants to join six antennas, along with three equipment cabinets, with existing T-Mobile antennas on the rooftop at 415 National Boulevard, a seven-story public housing authority apartment building, located directly behind Starbucks.
Jim Gounelas, an attorney with Amato & Associates in Garden City who is representing Metro PCS, said the company’s proposal is in keeping with the City of Long Beach’s code that requires telecommunication antennas and equipment to co-locate with T-Mobile. “That means locate where there is another facility already existing,” Gounelas said. “And that’s what we’re doing here. That’s why we went to this building. There already are equipment and antennas on it.”
When Metro PCS’s application went before the Long Beach Zoning Board of Appeals on Feb. 25, Chairman Rocco Morelli questioned the energy output of the antennas. Dave Collins, a health and safety expert from Pinnacle Telecom Group in New Jersey, testified that the maximum energy output of all the antennas together, including the T-Mobile antennas, would be 100 times below the maximum limit allowed by the Federal Communications Commission.
During the hearing, which lasted about nine minutes, there were no residents who voiced support for or opposition to the application, and none of Metro PCS’s representatives were asked to unveil their renditions and plans for public view.
Metro PCS offers customers unlimited local service without a contract, initiation fees or credit checks, a company spokesperson at a corporate store in Brooklyn told the
Herald.
Metro PCS provides service throughout the five boroughs, and its application in Long Beach is part of the company’s plan to expand its service throughout all of Long Island, were no service presently exists. “Metro PCS is launching its service on Long Island in the near future, so they’re basically building up their network on Long Island,” Gounelas said.
The zoning board is expected to announce its decision on the application at its March 26 meeting.
Comments about this story? JKellard@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 213.
