By ANTHONY BOTTAN
Those who negotiated the contract with Cablevision -- commissioner of communications for the village, Mike Shindler and attorney Jack Libert -- said that Cablevision matched Verizon's existing contract with the village, including the franchise fee and the Public, Education and Government grant. The PEG grant deals with the village's public access channels.
The franchise fee Cablevision will pay is five percent of the annual gross revenue. Cablevision will also pay an initial franchise PEG grant of $28,500. Thirty days after the agreement was signed, Cablevision will pay $25,000 in PEG grants. The amount of PEG grants the village receives decreases with each passing month. The final grant payment from Cablevision will be for $10,500.
With the franchise fee and PEG grants, the village can update its equipment and studio for the village channel, said village attorney Peter Ledwith. One minus for some village residents who live near the Malverne border, is that the Malverne government access programming channel, which is viewed by Lynbrook residents on channel 18, will be replaced with Lynbrook bulletin board programming. The Education channel will still be programmed by Lynbrook High School, and Cablevision will continue to manage the administration of the Public Access channel, which is currently on channel 115.
Trustees Dave Penso and Richard Clifford voted against signing the contract with Cablevision, but not because the agreement with the village was unfair, they said. They voted no because Mayor Brian Curran was named the sole signer of the contract, which means he has final say on what goes on the Lynbrook channels.
Penso and Clifford said they felt the board should be able to decide, as a whole, what is broadcasted and what is not. "The main reason I voted against it was because it would put the power over what goes on the Lynbrook channel in one person's hands," Penso said. "Just seeing how it was abused in the previous administration and the current one, I believe the board should decide what goes on it."
Comments on this story? ABottan@
liherald.com or call (516)569-4000 ext. 246.
