By Matt Hampton
On June 4, Rosalie Rella left her home to go to work. When she returned in the evening, the immaculately manicured narrow strip of lawn between the curb and sidewalk near her home was occupied by a four-story-tall wood pole. Rella had not been notified that any work would be done in the neighborhood.
“I don’t care what it costs to get rid of this thing, it’s going to come down,” Rella said. “I’m not the one who put it up, but I’m the one who pays taxes on this property.”
It turned out that the cellular company NextG Networks had installed the pole. Rella said that when she called the company’s public relations office and Town of Hempstead attorneys, she was told that NextG did not have to get permits or neighborhood permission to erect the pole because it was being treated as a utility.
“We pay the taxes from here to the curb, but we have no say about what goes there?” Rella asked. “I’m paying almost $12,000 in taxes to the town, but I can’t say when a tree goes up or comes down, or something like this.”
Maria Genova, who lives across the street from Rella, said she was terrified that a private company could come into her neighborhood and put up what amounts to a utility pole without any warning, let alone the knowledge of the community. “We need permits to do anything — change our house, install a swimming pool, anything,” Genova said. “We pay taxes on this property. It just doesn’t make sense.”
Susie Trenkle, spokeswoman for Town Supervisor Kate Murray, said that NextG has been recognized by the New York State Public Service Commission as a utility. “Therefore, we can’t restrict where they site poles,” she said. “We’ve been working on this and trying to deal with it, but at this point, what the town is trying to do is work with [NextG] as far as siting them.”
Trenkle said the poles are not technically cell phone transmitters, but are rather a kind of wireless receiver, which makes them different from something a private company would erect. NextG works with wireless carrier MetroPCS, according to published reports. MetroPCS uses a wireless signal to transmit communication much like a cell phone — and for the same purpose — but the signal is actually radio waves, as opposed to a digital signal.
Representatives of county Legislators John Ciotti and Vincent Muscarella both came out to examine the pole and wait with concerned residents on Monday, as they anticipated a meeting with local representatives from NextG. Anne DeMichael, from Ciotti’s office, and Angela Bosco, representing Muscarella, said they were not sure what, if anything, could be done to prevent the poles from being used.
“One thing’s for sure, though,” DeMichael said. “We have never seen anything like these poles before.”
Rella has circulated a petition in her community that she said already has more than 200 signatures. Her goal is to get the pole out of her neighborhood. “I want to get this thing down, and maybe have them put it over by the parkway,” she said, indicating nearby Dogwood Avenue, which feeds onto the Southern State Parkway. “People don’t notice them out there.”
After meeting with neighborhood representatives, NextG Networks said it would be willing to install a light pole on the corner that could be used as a cell phone receiver, instead of the obtrusive 40-foot pole.
Rella said that aside from the awful aesthetics, she was concerned about the radiation that a cell tower receiver gives off. She was told by company representatives that radiation levels are no more harmful than those emitted by a microwave, a fact that is cold comfort to her.
“This is the kind of thing you find out was bad after the fact,” she said. “I’m not worried about the older residents, I’m worried about kids who play outside and have to deal with it. We’re not far from two schools.”
A representative of NextG Networks did not return a phone call for comment as of press time.
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