By SARI ZEIDLER
Charles Kovit, senior deputy town attorney, explained that federal law has tied the hands of the Town of Hempstead in regulating the placement of the NextG antennas, brown metal boxes affixed to telephone poles about 20 feet in the air. New York state granted NextG utility status, and as such it is permitted to install cell antennas in local neighborhoods without restriction, according to the federal Telecommunications Act of 1996.
NextG planned to activate 275 cellular antennas throughout Nassau County -- 157 of them in Hempstead Town -- by July 1, according to Patrick Ryan, an attorney for the company. The antennas are installed on Verizon telephone poles and provide cellular service for Metro PCS. Because NextG has obtained utility status, Ryan explained, the Telecommunications Act requires Verizon to give NextG access to its poles. NextG pays anywhere from $30 to $80 a year per pole, he said, and is interested in contracting with other cellular providers in addition to Metro PCS in the future.
According to Kovit, who acknowledged that the town originally tried to oust NextG and said he was speaking on behalf of Town Supervisor Kate Murray and Council Member Angie Cullin, the town decided to cooperate with NextG because officials felt they could offer better solutions for residents by working with the company rather than fighting it. Kovit said the town is limited to "managing the public way," meaning it cannot argue for the removal of NextG antennas unless they interfere with traffic or public roads.
"Yes, we had some false starts," Kovit said, "but that's behind us now, and I think that we're about to really enter into a new phase with [NextG], where there's complete cooperation."
Kovit said that because the town has decided to grant NextG access to some town-owned poles, NextG will only need to install 12 40-foot poles instead of the 24 that were originally planned. Two poles were planned for Merrick and two for North Merrick. One was erected at the edge of a wetland on Leeward Lane on June 1 and removed on June 5 after the town intervened. Another, installed on Chapin Avenue, remains standing. Susan Trenkle, a town spokeswoman, said that two of the poles are no longer necessary because the town has provided alternate locations for the antennas.
Kovit said that negotiations are still taking place to determine which poles will be eliminated from the list. He also suggested that instead of 40-foot poles, smaller poles might be erected in some locations that look like what he described as "decorative light poles," with NextG boxes affixed to them and four-foot antennas on top. He said this alternative would require more poles.
Despite what Kovit described as good intentions in the face of a legal dead end, Merokeans who attended the June 23 meeting expressed their anger over the town's decision. Steven Persons, a Leeward Lane resident who was active in getting the NextG pole removed there, called the town's stance "offensive" to people who wanted to fight NextG. Others argued that if the town hired an attorney specializing in telecommunications, it might find new legal grounds to have the antennas removed.
Residents expressed fear for their health, because the antennas are placed on town rights-of-way, close to homes and schools. Some described waking up to find antennas outside their homes, installed late at night or early in the morning without any notification.
Kovit could not speak specifically about the notification NextG would provide, but said, "I believe it's going to be good, strong notice."
Daniel Collins, chief technical officer for Pinnacle Telecom Group LLC, a company contracted by NextG, made a presentation on the safety of NextG antennas that was poorly received, arguing with several people who asked questions. In an effort to smooth relations with the residents and show good will on behalf of NextG, Ryan agreed to allow South Merrick Community Civic Association President Joe Baker to act as a community liaison and attend meetings between town attorneys and NextG attorneys.
Comments about this story? SZeidler@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 236.
