The cell tower would be located at the corner of Old Town Road and Norwood Avenue, on the property of North Shore Jewish Center. In the immediate vicinity of the location of the proposed tower are two schools, Ward Melville High School and Norwood Elementary School.
Andrew Overton, a representative from T-Mobile, came to the meeting to present the site proposal, which the company was not entirely satisfied with either. “This is the worst possible location for us,” he said, repeatedly. “The only redeeming quality about this location is that it is not a residential use. I can’t imagine a worse site from a zoning perspective and a community perspective.”
It would be used to cover a signal area 1 mile in diameter.
Flaurie Green and other residents wrote a petition letter to the Board of Trustees of the Jewish Center calling for them to oppose the installation of the tower. “A 90-foot cell tower is completely inconsistent with the residential nature of the adjacent Norwood Avenue and immediate surrounding community,” it said.
By the end of the meeting, Green said she had already collected over 400 signatures. She has also sent the letter to the CEO of T-Mobile, Robert Dotson, State Assemblyman Steve Engelbright (D-Setauket), Suffolk County Deputy Presiding Officer Vivian Viloria-Fisher (D-Port Jefferson Station) and Town Councilman Steve Fiore-Rosenfeld (D-East Setauket).
The company has not taken any definitive action yet on the matter, Overton added. In order to build the tower, the company must acquire a variance to existing zoning laws, which requires a hearing in front of the Brookhaven Town Zoning Board.
Overton described a lengthy process that involves searching for a location to place the cell antenna. Whenever possible, Overton said, the company looks to collocate with other wireless companies on existing towers or structures. If there is no existing structure, the company looks to locate on industrially or commercially zoned property.
When the company cannot find property on commercially zoned property, it looks for rooftops or poles in residentially zoned areas to place the antenna. In this case, they could not find any existing structure, and are proposing to build a new one.
T-Mobile has not gone to the hearing for this location yet, Overton said. “We need to find a place that is leasable, zoneable and buildable.”
They have driven through the area to look for suitable locations, however. Once they found this location, T-Mobile administered a “crane test.”
A crane test involves the company hanging an antenna on a crane, affixing it at the location desired and testing the strength of the signal, to see if building the tower at that location will successfully cover the signal area.
One resident had pictures of her four sons playing in her backyard, with the crane test visible in the background. “Why aren’t you hiring a team of engineers to find a better way to put this?” she asked. “Find other places.”
Every time a question was asked, residents would add a comment at once, creating a chaotic situation. Civic Association President Lou Antoniello had to shush the crowd multiple times for the discussion to take place. “We need the same passion at a town board meeting—if it ever gets that far.”
Residents were concerned about their health and the health of their children. “I have a 6-year-old daughter and a 3-year old son,” one resident said. “I do not want them near these things.”
Other residents just simply do not want to look at it. “I don’t want this eyesore in my backyard,” one said. “Everyone of us that is here tonight, we shouldn’t let it get to our government officials. We walk, we picket, we have signs, they will know and understand we don’t want this in our backyards.”
T-Mobile has to provide a certain measure of cellular service everywhere in the United States, according to federal law. The Telecommunications Act of 1996 requires that one be able to call emergency 911 services from any phone service provider anywhere in the US.
The Act also says that residents’ health cannot be a determining factor in the location of a proposed cell tower.
The meeting also allowed for an attorney to present the development of a branch building for All-Pro Siding Company. The ancillary office will be on Industrial Road near a Cablevision building. Also, Dr. Lee Koppelman presented a case to conduct a “hamlet study” on Port Jefferson Station-Terryville to give it direction for any future development.
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