Hempstead holds hearing on wireless antennas

Community opponents and representatives of T-Mobile Northeast squared off Wednesday over a proposal to erect six wireless communication antennas on the roof of the Farmingdale Wantagh Jewish Center.

The hearing, which lasted more than six hours, ended without a clear victor as the Hempstead Town Board of Appeals reserved its decision. Deputy town attorney Charles Kovit said it may be several weeks before the board decides whether to approve or reject the proposal.

Public concern over the growth of wireless infrastructure led the town on Aug. 3 to delay hearing the T-Mobile application and other similar ones while the town developed a new ordinance aimed at giving the town greater clout over siting wireless towers and antennas. That ordinance was approved Sept. 21.

While the new ordinance does not apply to the T-Mobile proposal for the site on Woodbine Avenue in Wantagh, many residents who advocated for the stricter standards were at Wednesday's hearing, as was Richard Comi, a consultant the town hired to help develop the new rules and advise on applications from wireless carriers.

Robert Gaudioso, a T-Mobile attorney, called several expert witnesses who testified that the antennas met federal guidelines for emission of electromagnetic radiation, would have no impact on property values and would help remedy a coverage gap in the area.

Comi argued that the company had not demonstrated a need for the antennas. Residents backed that position.

Pam Dempsey of the Wantagh Civic Association said she and others systematically tested a cell phone on the T-Mobile network in the area and had no problem making or receiving calls.

"Not a single dropped call or loss of service," she said. "Their claim that there is a significant gap is ridiculous."

Gaudioso questioned the value of Dempsey's findings, as well as a reception test Comi did that similarly found no problems. "The relevance of the call test has not been supported by the courts or the scientific community," Gaudioso said.

When the hearing began at about 12:30 p.m., more that 60 people were in attendance. When it wrapped up shortly before 7 p.m., board chairman David Weiss told the roughly 20 members of the public remaining that board members planned to visit the neighborhood as part of their deliberations and would make a decision as quickly as possible.