By Scott Brinton
The North Bellmore Civic Association lost its fight last week to prevent a cellular provider from adding nine antennae to a Jerusalem Avenue tower.
John Mulligan, association president, expressed disappointment at the town Board of Zoning Appeals' decision on Thursday to permit the antennae, which Nextel had proposed. "We presented our case the best that we could," Mulligan said.
In all, the tower will hold 27 antennae. Already, it supports 18, nine of which are owned by AT&T and nine by Sprint. Two more cellular providers are planning to seek antennae at the site, Mulligan had heard, although he could not give their names.
The civic president said the potential health risks that the tower might pose led residents to protest its construction. Some studies have suggested that radio-frequency radiation, which cell towers emit, might cause cancer. However, there is no proof as yet, and the 1996 federal Telecommunications Act prevents municipalities from considering health when siting cell towers.
The only argument the civic association could raise before the zoning board was the tower's potentially negative effect on surrounding property values. Floyd Earl, owner of Manor Gate Realty in Wantagh, testified for the civic association on Thursday. Earl told the board that area home prices could drop 5 percent because of the monopole.
"The tower itself has two problems," Earl said in an interview with the Herald. "Number one, it's the unsightliness of it. The other effect, which is probably more widespread, is the fear of the unknown"; that is, its effect on human health.
For 40 years, Ren
