TMCnet News

Hempstead to delay applications for cell phone towers [Newsday, Melville, N.Y.]
[August 04, 2010]

Hempstead to delay applications for cell phone towers [Newsday, Melville, N.Y.]


(Newsday (Melville, NY) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Aug. 04--Hempstead Tuesday handed a modest victory to angry opponents in what is becoming a pitched feud in communities across Long Island between wireless companies determined to build more cell towers and install transmitters, and residents who don't want the structures in their neighborhoods.



The town board said it won't consider any wireless applications until at least Sept. 21, when it expects to vote on a new ordinance giving the town more clout to deny and shape often-controversial telecommunications projects.

Officials announced the policy at a town board meeting where roughly 60 residents and Nassau County Legis. Dave Denenberg (D-Merrick) asked for a ban on new cell phone transmitter or tower applications, and greater care when allowing companies to put wireless infrastructure in communities.


Pam Dempsey, a Wantagh small-business owner and homemaker opposed to a plan by T-Mobile Northeast to put six transmitters, hidden inside faux chimneys, on the roof of the Farmingdale Wantagh Jewish Center, welcomed the policy, but said more can be done.

"I think they are wanting to help," Dempsey, 51, said of the town board. "I just think they need to be more proactive than reactive." Over the past year, public controversies over the installation of cell towers and transmitters have been up sharply in communities including Bayville, Terryville, Merrick and Bayport, as companies accelerate installations to keep up with increased use of smart phones capable of transmitting large amounts of data.

In Hempstead, two additional projects are pending. T-Mobile wants to put six transmitters inside a radio tower at a firehouse in North Bellmore and nine on the roof of a Subway sandwich shop in Garden City, officials said.

T-Mobile offered a statement from Jane Builder, a regional external affairs manager: "We believe the Town of Hempstead is best served by the peace of mind that comes with great wireless coverage: coverage that lets families stay connected to the important people in their lives and improves access to emergency services for personal and public safety purposes." The new telecommunications ordinance is being developed with help from Richard Comi, a municipal consultant on wireless-infrastructure regulation and litigation. Comi said communities often pay too high a cost for the benefits of wireless service.

"We need the service for safety, health, usage, call it what you will," he said. "But it needs to be done in such a fashion that it's physically not intrusive. And that can be done." According to Federal Communications Commission data, there are close to 1,400 cell towers on Long Island, more than 100 of which are in Hempstead. There are many more transmitters, however -- about 5,700 on the Island, and about 1,100 in Hempstead.

In Hempstead, each wireless-communications tower supports an average of seven transmitters, said town spokesman Mike Deery. The town granted installation of 108 transmitters in 2009, he said, and 35 so far this year.

Opponents of the T-Mobile projects in Hempstead raise several objections. The installations are unattractive and their presence can depress property values, they argue. Also, opponents fear too little is known about the consequences to human health of living near such equipment, though studies have found no ill health effects.

Comi, the consultant, said federal law limits how much power local governments have to deny applications from wireless companies. For instance, health concerns are not valid grounds. Still, he said, local codes can be strengthened in many ways to promote sensible siting of wireless hardware.

Rather than hold a meeting to gather more public input on the new ordinance, a move sought by many residents, Hempstead plans to designate space Wednesday on the town's website soliciting public comment via e-mail.

With Elizabeth Moore To see more of Newsday, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.newsday.com Copyright (c) 2010, Newsday, Melville, N.Y.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com, e-mail [email protected], or call 866-280-5210 (outside the United States, call +1 312-222-4544)

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]