By Scott Brinton
The civic group's leadership, including President Joe Baker, encouraged meeting attendees to turn out for a Sept. 13 Town of Hempstead Board of Zoning Appeals hearing on the matter. The BZA session is scheduled to start at 3 p.m.
Berta Weinstein, who lives just south of Max & Gino's on Alice Street, said she worries about the potential health effects of radio-frequency radiation given off by cellular antennas. "We need to stand together as a community" to oppose the antennas, she said. "The [Max & Gino's] building is 30 feet from my house." Weinstein is collecting petition signatures of people who oppose the project.
The federal Telecommunications Act of 1996 prevents communities from banning cellular antennas or towers because of "perceived" health risks. To date, studies of whether RF radiation poses a health risk have been inconclusive. But Baker noted that the mere presence of cellular antennas near homes undoubtedly reduces property values, and that alone is reason enough to stand against them.
Nassau County Legislator David Denenberg, a Democrat of Merrick, said that residents need to turn out for the BZA hearing in large numbers in order to show solidarity and widespread opposition to the project. "The [Board of Zoning Appeals] needs to see that there is a lot of community opposition," Denenberg said.
Baker echoed the legislator, saying, "If only five people show up, this thing is going to go through."
Neil Yeoman of south Merrick said residents should call on the Town of Hempstead to allow a cellular tower at the town's garbage-transfer station, which sits just east of the Meadowbrook Parkway, south of Merrick Road. In 2004, Verizon proposed installing a 100-foot-tall cellular tower there, but facing stiff community opposition to the project, the company quickly withdrew its plans for the tower.
Yeoman believes that the transfer station was the perfect location for a cellular tower because it is not near homes. The tower could be used by several companies for their antennas, eliminating the need for antennas atop Merrick Road businesses. The antennas, Yeoman said, "have gone from a totally safe place to a place that's far less safe. It's time that we go back to the Town of Hempstead and say we made a mistake."
Still, at least some residents continued to express concern about erecting a cellular tower at the transfer station, because it sits next to Town of Hempstead ball fields where children regularly play.
Subhead: Speeding in south Merrick
Speeding was also a topic of lengthy discussion at the civic meeting. Irwin Kaplan, who lives on Beach Drive, said he regularly sees drivers ignoring speed-limit signs, and that he and his daughter were nearly hit by a motorist recently. "We have an epidemic of people who don't obey the law," Kaplan said. "It's time to stop talking and start working."
Baker said that speeding is one of the civic group's "main" and "most important" issues.
Michele Chernet, president of the Levy-Lakeside Elementary School PTA, said speeding was of particular concern on Babylon Road, at the entrance to the school. "We have to also focus on the speeding going into Levy-Lakeside," said Chernet. Drivers often "don't acknowledge that there are 10 houses on Babylon Road."
Tricia Casey said she often sees speeding on Merrick Avenue. "There's drag racing on Merrick Avenue, and no one is ticketed," she said. "They're pulled over, and [police] let them go."
Mark Salsberg, who sits on the civic group's bylaws committee, hopes the group will help neighbors get to know one another better, and with greater familiarity, he believes people will be more courteous to one another, which should lead to reduced speeding.
Baker noted that 7th Precinct Commander Arthur Thompson attended the civic association's June meeting, and pledged to work with the group to identify speeding hot spots throughout south Merrick and increase enforcement in those areas.
Subhed: Cats out of control
Veterinarians Cathy Klemenger and Azra Marghoob addressed residents' concerns that the stray-cat population was booming in south Merrick. Klemenger said that Companions Animal Hospital, which she recently opened with Marghoob on Merrick Road, would provide low-cost spaying and neutering for stray cats.
The veterinarians said the stray-cat population would grow exponentially unless cats were spayed and neutered. Without intervention, Klemenger said, "You could start with two cats, and within a short time you could have a 100 cats."
Klemenger said the hospital could accept up to two spaying or neutering cases per day. "We can't let this overrun the business," she said. She also noted that residents should be careful when capturing stray animals, as they might have been exposed to rabies.
Sarah Greenstein, a member of the association's bylaws committee who works for the Petco Foundation, said that her company provides grants to offset the costs of community spay and neutering programs, and that she would discuss the possibility of securing such funding with Klemenger after the meeting.
Many thanks
Baker thanked Marian Fraker-Gutin, president of the Merrick Chamber of Commerce, for making sure that the ³Welcome to Merrick² signs at the entrance to south Merrick were quickly fixed up when he recently called. "These are small things that don't seem important, but when you group them together, they make the town a better place to live," Baker said.
The civic group's next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 28, at 7:30 p.m., at the Merrick Road Golf Course.
Comments about this story? SBrinton@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 203.
