By Laura Lane
Berta Weinstein has lived on Alice Street, which is parallel to Merrick Road, for nearly 22 years. She said she found out about Cingular's plans after receiving a certified letter in late June from the wireless company, stating that it planned to go before the Town of Hempstead Board of Zoning appeals on July 12 to seek permission to erect the antennas.
"Everyone who lives 100 feet from the address received a letter," said Weinstein. "I have no problem living behind commercial properties, but I do have a problem with 12 four-foot antennas being put up."
Weinstein is concerned that the antennas will create future health problems for people living nearby the planned site. "Cingular's lawyer said they can prove to me that [the antennas] won't do anything, but prove that to me 10 years from now," said Weinstein. "Cingular rents a building across the street. Why not put the antennas there?"
Cingular Wireless spokeswoman Ellen Webner said the company holds a Federal Communications Commission license for the antennas and will follow health codes to ensure public safety.
But Weinstein has another concern. She worries that the antennas will compromise the community aesthetically. "Once you put the antennas on a building on Merrick Road, it will become a precedent to put them everywhere else," worried Weinstein. "It may not be a cell tower, but these antennas will be four feet long, and there are 12 of them."
Webner said the location on Merrick Road is the best site for the antennas. She said that the building that Cingular is seeking is the proper height, and added that the company always erects the antennas on existing buildings.
"The purpose of erecting the antennas is to improve network coverage for our customers," said Webner. "The antennas will be camouflaged behind screens."
Weinstein contacted Joe Baker, president of the newly formed South Merrick Civic Association, with her concerns. He's on vacation, but did contact Cingular to request that the hearing be adjourned until he returns, which Cingular agreed to do. And Cingular has agreed to meet with concerned residents before the next hearing, which has been tentatively scheduled for Aug. 2 at 2:30 p.m.
