Civc sets public meeting over tower

      The North Bellmore Civic Association plan to host a public meeting to discuss the North Bellmore cellular tower. The meeting is set to take place at the North Bellmore Public Library on Newbridge Road on Monday, October 2 at 7 P.M.
      To contact the association, one may e-mail to Nbellmorecivic@AOL.com, or write to: North Bellmore Civic Association, P.O. Box 569, North Bellmore, NY 11710.

N. Bellmore tower battle rages

Residents, cell providers on different wavelengths over antennae

      Representatives of the cellular phone providers that erected an antennae tower along Jerusalem Avenue and members of the North Bellmore Civic Association failed to reach a compromise agreement as to what should be done with the tower during a meeting on Monday, September 11.
       Local residents say they want the tower removed and transplanted elsewhere or disguised as a flagpole. The cellular providers contend either option would simply cost too much to carry out, but they have offered to reduce the size of the tower's antennae from 12 to four feet in length, knowledgeable sources said. One source close to this story said that masking the tower as a flagpole could run $50,000.
      Last week, a Town of Hempstead Board of Zoning Appeals hearing over the tower was adjourned to Wednesday, November 29, to give both parties time to prepare their arguments for and against the tower.
      The case was reopened earlier this year after Bellmore-Merrick Central High School officials revealed that Sprint and AT&T, the two providers that originally built the tower, did not notify the district of a BZA hearing over the structure last fall. By law, the providers were required to alert the district of the hearing, as it owns an adjacent school and property that the Board of Cooperative Educational Services rents.
      The cellular providers argue that reopening this case is unjustified. Lawrence Re, the Huntington-based lawyer representing the companies, told the BZA before the adjournment last Wednesday: "The reopening is unnecessary. The prior decision [allowing for construction of the tower] is valid."
      The tower, which rises 100 feet into the air and now anchors 18 antennae, first came to light in an exclusive Bellmore Herald story in the March 16 issue. Shortly after, local residents began organizing in opposition to the tower, citing aesthetic and potential health concerns as reasons for wanting it out of the community. A North Bellmore Civic Association formed primarily to fight the tower.
      John Mulligan, the association's president, said he is certain that, if the Central High School District had been notified of the tower's construction, "they would have objected."
      He also said that, ideally, he would like to see the tower removed. However, he is willing to accept the tower if it were disguised as a flagpole. "We would like to see that kind of structure," he told the Herald.
      The civic president is waiting to see an artist's rendering of what the tower might look like if the antennae were shortened by eight feet.      
      Ed Grilli, a member of the Town of Hempstead's Task Force on Cell Phone Towers, said members of the North Bellmore Civic Association are "negotiating in good faith."
      Mr. Grilli, who has fought vigorously against a cell tower across from Chatterton Elementary in Merrick, said local residents remain concerned about the potential long-term health threat cell phone antennae may pose. Some studies have suggested that the non-ionizing radiation given off by the antennae may cause cancer; however, experts are quick to note that no definitive proof exists to support this claim.
      At last Wednesday's shortened BZA hearing, Mr. Grilli questioned the board whether they would be willing to accept a further adjournment of this case in November, if local residents are unable to prepare their arguments. He noted that they would need time to raise money to hire experts to testify in this case, if the residents cannot find a compromise solution with the cellular providers.
      Gerald Wright, the BZA chairman, said that he is not inclined to delay this case any longer. "It would have to be for a very good reason," he said.
      Mr. Re noted that Nextel, the third cellular provider whose application to add nine antennae atop the tower is pending before the BZA, has an "urgent need to find a site and provide service to their customers."
      The best anyone could say about a possible outcome for this case came from Ed Grilli: "We'll see."
       A six-month Town of Hempstead moratorium on new cell phone tower construction runs out in October. The moratorium was intended to give the cell task force time to study the towers and their potential ramifications for residents.