By Marley Seaman and Brian Zanzonico
The company is looking to build a 65-foot-tall cell tower on Dogwood Avenue, on the border of Franklin Square and Malverne, a project that has already met with some public opposition. The new proposal, made at the village board meeting on Nov. 16, is for a tower inside the steeple of the Malverne Bible Church. After renovation of the steeple, the structure would be invisible to the public.
Omnipoint representatives said the tower would improve coverage. However, they said, even if the Dogwood Avenue tower and the Bible Church tower were built, they would still seek to build on other sites in Malverne.
Village officials expressed surprise about the proposal, wondering how many cell towers would be needed in the 1-square-mile village. Mayor Anthony Panzarella said he had expected that the 100-foot-tall tower in Harris Field, which has antennas for Omnipoint and other carriers, would have given Malverne good enough cell phone reception.
"We felt that if they were going to put a big 100-foot antenna on [Department of Public Works property], they would not have to put anything up in the church," Panzarella told the Herald. "It was kind of a surprise to us that they continued to pursue the church after they told us they were going on the big antenna."
Omnipoint representatives said that their company¹s signal does not travel very far because of its high frequency, and that its antennas are "highly directional."
The other cell tower in Malverne, near exit 17S on the Southern State Parkway, stands 70 feet tall. There is also a tower on Church Street in Lynbrook.
At the meeting, Omnipoint representatives displayed a map of cell phone coverage in Malverne. They said that in a number of places, including north and east of the church, users in their homes do not get good reception -- and even if the church tower is approved, there will be areas in Malverne that do not meet Omnipoint's coverage standards. Omnipoint does not plan to share that tower with other carriers, so carriers wishing to augment their service would need to build additional towers of their own.
Tower proposal withdrawn in East Meadow
With the news that East Meadow residents have defeated Omnipoint/T-Mobile's plan to build a cell tower in their neighborhood, there are new questions about whether that will impact the cell company's plans for the Dogwood Avenue tower.
At an East Meadow Civic Association meeting on Nov. 15, residents were informed that Omnipoint had withdrawn plans for an antenna at the intersection of Newbridge Road and Seventh Avenue. The announcement was made official days later, when the Town of Hempstead received a letter from Omnipoint attorneys stating that they were withdrawing their application for a 60-foot-tall light pole to be installed on top of a commercial building near homes at the intersection of Newbridge Road and Seventh Avenue.
Susie Trenkle, spokeswoman for the Town of Hempstead, said, "We received the letter, but we were not given any reasons for the withdrawal." Omnipoint/T-Mobile representatives did not return calls for comment.
Franklin Square residents are hoping the company has a change of heart about the proposal for their neighborhood and pulls that application as well. "I find it quite promising," Carol Grassi said about the East Meadow withdrawal. "My hope is that Omnipoint is listening to people and will find alternatives. Maybe we'll get an early Christmas present."
A 50-year Franklin Square resident who identified herself only as Mary said she hopes the determination of her neighbors will prompt Omnipoint/T-Mobile to look elsewhere. "If there is a need for the tower like the company says, put it in an industrial part of town," she said. "Maybe we've nudged them enough to do that."
The Franklin Square United Neighborhood Association Inc., a group formed by residents to raise money to hire experts in the fight against Omnipoint, collected more than $10,000 for an attorney and a cell phone technology expert, and held a two-week online sports memorabilia auction, sponsored by Steiner Sports, to raise more money.
The East Meadow Civic Association did not hire experts to argue its case because the group's record in challenging Zoning Board of Appeals cases since the group formed 30 years ago stands at about 20-0, President Bob Zafonte said. "They knew we were a high-profile, strong civic with a tremendous reputation," Zafonte, the association's president for the last 25 years, said of Omnipoint. "They knew we would leave no stone unturned."
Zafonte said that on the day of the East Meadow application hearing before the ZBA, the East Meadow association asked for a one-month postponement. Zafonte said the ZBA obliged, and directed Omnipoint to give a presentation to the EMCA within the month. The night of the Nov. 15 civic meeting, a sole Omnipoint representative came to deliver the surprising news that Omnipoint had decided to pull the application.
Franklin Square UNA President Ron Lipsky said that in his estimation, Omnipoint's decision on the East Meadow application will not have any impact on Omnipoint's Franklin Square application. "They're unrelated," Lipsky said, adding that it must have been more than a civic group's reputation that prompted Omnipoint to drop the East Meadow application. "Why they pulled out, only Omnipoint knows. A hearing [before the ZBA] never took place. In our case, unfortunately, it went to a hearing, and [Omnipoint has] sunk a lot of money into it."
A date has not been set for the Hempstead Town Zoning Board to reconvene Omnipoint's Franklin Square special-use-permit hearing. On Sept. 28, the ZBA heard more than 11 hours of testimony from Omnipoint, experts hired by residents and the residents themselves. Days earlier, close to 1,000 residents had gathered outside the Franklin Bridge Centre to protest the tower.
Omnipoint cited gaps in coverage as the need for the tower. Cell phone technology expert Richard Comey, however, testified that during a test, 100 calls were made throughout the area, and reception during all the calls made and received was "crystal clear."
Will Malverne board approve?
The board will vote on Omnipoint's proposal for the church at the Dec. 21 meeting. Panzarella said that he had not decided whether to support it. "I think it's kind of ridiculous for all these towers to be going up," he said. "I just don't understand why they're the only company, basically, that needs antennas all over the place ... Basically, they're telling us they need an antenna every 10, 12 blocks."
If the board turns down Omnipoint's application, Panzarella said, he expects the dispute will end up in court.
Comments about this story? MSeaman@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 205.
