By SARI ZEIDLER
According to Town Supervisor Kate Murray, the agreement will give the town more say on where NextG cellular antennas can be installed. The antennas, brown metal boxes either affixed to existing Verizon telephone poles or new poles built by Next G, about 20 feet off the ground, have caused an uproar among residents who have discovered them outside their homes or near schools, with little or no notification.
The agreement calls for NextG to voluntarily notify the town 30 days before installing a new antenna or erecting a new pole, and will require that the town's Highway Department issue permits for new NextG poles. Senior Deputy Town Attorney Charles Kovit previously told the Herald that the town's decision to work with NextG will result in the construction of 12 new 40-foot NextG poles instead of 24, as was originally planned.
"We don't have the right, nor does any municipality, to say to NextG, 'No, you can't be here,'" Murray said at the hearing, referring to federal and state laws that prevent the town from requiring NextG to get permits to install the antennas and erect the poles.
The state's Public Service Commission granted public utility status to NextG, a Distributed Antenna System that provides cellular frequencies to cell carriers. In Nassau County, NextG is contracted to provide service to Metro PCS, but Patrick Ryan, an attorney for NextG, said the company may seek contracts with other carriers in the future.
As a public utility, NextG is governed by the Federal Telecommunications Act of 1996, which mandates that Verizon allow NextG access to its poles and allows NextG's poles and antennas to be installed without adhering to local zoning laws.
At the hearing, Ryan said that NextG was not required by law to enter into a franchise agreement, but did so as a sign of compromise.
Merrick residents who oppose the town's decision staged a protest outside Town Hall before the meeting began. "It's all about the kids," said Merrick resident Jeff Berkoff, holding one of his sons over his shoulder while he addressed a crowd. "I have four little kids." Berkoff and others listed health concerns and diminished property values among their reasons for opposing NextG.
County Legislator Dave Denenberg, a Democrat from Merrick, said that a county attorney was scheduled to meet with NextG to discuss finding locations for the antennas, such as sumps, that will be farther away from private residences than town rights of way.
