By Mike Schnitzel
After a presentation and discussion, the board voted 4-0 in favor of the agreement, prompting cheers from the crowd, including many Verizon employees, who packed Village Hall for a public hearing. Trustee William Hendrick recused himself from the vote because his law firm does work for Verizon in Brooklyn.
"Fair competition equals choice, which is what I want," said Whittier Street resident Tom Wargas, echoing the sentiments of villagers and trustees alike.
Stephen Rossi, a Kelsey Place resident who attended the meeting, was one of many urging the board to approve the deal. "You are responsible to the residents of this village," said Rossi. "Let me choose who I want to give my money to."
The 10-year franchise agreement will earmark $183,500 in Public, Educational and Governmental (PEG) grants to the village, with an additional 5 percent of Verizon's subscriber fees going to village coffers.
"I think this is a good deal for the village and our residents," said Deputy Mayor Thomas Miccio, who, along with Village Attorney Peter Ledwith and Commissioner of Communications Michael Shindler, negotiated the deal with Verizon on behalf of the village.
Cablevision representatives were on hand to question some aspects of the agreement, saying that it may not leave the two companies on equal footing. Peter Bee, Cablevision counsel, pointed out that while Verizon representatives claimed they were "100 percent ready" to serve the entire village, the franchise agreement did not state that.
McFaul Kirbey, who represented Verizon on behalf of the Telecommunications Insight Group, which negotiated the franchise agreement with the village, said Verizon was 98 percent ready to serve customers. "The footprint is in place -- it's the access to individual homes which we don't have yet," said Kirbey.
He also said that the 2 percent Verizon was not ready to serve included residents of condominiums and co-ops, which have their own boards that would have to give their approval before Verizon could provide service.
Bee said that Cablevision believes it provides substantially more to the village in PEG grants than Verizon would under its agreement, but he declined to give any specifics. In addition, he said, Cablevision has offered more amenities than Verizon can, including maintaining studio facilities in the village and operating a local business office to address customer concerns.
Cablevision also maintained that there is no provision for imposing monetary fines on Verizon if it violates its franchise agreement with the village. Based on this, Bee said, Cablevision felt it had the right to request the same franchise agreement with the village as Verizon. By law, a hearing on the matter could be held within 30 days, he said.
Ledwith called Bee's interpretation of the law "interesting," but said that only a new service provider could call for a hearing in such a short time period. Ledwith said that Cablevision could request that a hearing be held within 60 days, but couldn't demand the same deal as Verizon. "The village does not have to give you the exact same deal if they don't want to," said Ledwith. "The law requires that the agreements provide a level playing field and are fair and balanced overall. They don't have to be exact on a line-by-line basis."
Ledwith said the village felt the agreement was fair to both providers.
Verizon counsel Brendan Pinkard said it was unnecessary to give the village the right to impose fines on the company for any violations of the franchise agreement, because Federal Communications Commission law already gives the village that right.
Lynbrook becomes the fifth community in Nassau County to allow Verizon to provide cable service. Massapequa Park was the first to approve an application by Verizon, in September 2005. Since then, Rockville Centre, the Town of Hempstead and Cedarhurst have approved Verizon applications to provide service.
Cablevision had been Lynbrook's only cable television provider, after acquiring the previously exclusive Adams-Russell cable company in the mid-1980s.
According to the franchise agreement, municipal buildings, including Village Hall, the library, fire companies and schools will be provided with cable service by Verizon free of charge. However, Lynbrook South Middle School, Marion Street School and Waverly Park School will not receive free service under the deal, since they are located outside the incorporated village.
Verizon's application will now go before the New York State Public Service Commission for approval. All applications submitted by cable television providers must be heard by the commission, which ensures that they comply with state laws and regulations, and the commission can make changes to franchise agreements if necessary.
Comments about this story? MSchnitzel@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 265.
