In Hempstead Town, their antennas are up

[Yankees368]

BY EDEN LAIKIN

eden.laikin@newsday.com

2:53 PM EDT, June 9, 2009

Imagine waking up one morning to a 40-foot pole in front of your house - which you were never notified about - that is adorned with a metal box and an antenna sticking out through the top.

That's what has happened to a group of Hempstead Town residents in the last two weeks, the majority of them in Merrick and Franklin Square.

And it could happen to more than 250 more homeowners throughout Nassau County before NextG Networks is done.

Officials with NextG, which is headquartered in California, have said that its designation and regulation as a public utility and telecommunications company by the New York State Public Service Commission gives it permission to install its "distributed antenna system" on utility poles through agreements mandated by the Telecommunications Act of 1996.

For the most part, the poles are on the "right-of-ways" in front of homes - the grassy median separated from a house's lawn by the sidewalk.

The town, officials say, cannot restrict any public utilities from putting poles there.

Nassau Legis. Dave Denenberg (D-Merrick) wants the Town of Hempstead to intervene, exert its local zoning authority and stop these installations or at least require them to give public notification and apply for permits.

Denenberg held a news conference Tuesday morning, surrounded by a group of residents who say NextG either has affixed cellular antennas to their utility poles or has placed new poles in front of their houses without notification.

Town spokesman Michael Deery said the town cannot override the provisions of the Telecommunications Act through zoning. He said there's a safe harbor provision that prevents local authorities from doing that.

Hempstead Town officials say they will be meeting with representatives from NextG on Wednesday to explore every avenue in protecting their residents.

Copyright © 2009, Newsday Inc.

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I am willing to put money down to say that MetroPCS is behind this.

[Yankees368]

Article updated, and I was right, its MetroPCS

Newsday.com
NextG's 40-foot utility poles anger Hempstead residents

BY EDEN LAIKIN

eden.laikin@newsday.com

10:23 PM EDT, June 9, 2009

Dozens of Nassau County residents could come home soon to find a 40-foot utility pole, topped with a cellular antenna, planted in front of their homes. And there's nothing they can do about it.

NextG Networks has already begun installing the equipment in communities throughout Hempstead Town. The company - which says its fiber-optic system enhances existing wireless coverage in areas with weak signals - doesn't need to obtain permits or approval from the town, officials said. And they're not required to provide notice to homeowners.

The company, in contract with wireless carrier MetroPCS, has begun to install its Distributed Antenna System at 275 sites throughout Nassau, 150 in the Town of Hempstead. There are no plans to extend coverage into Suffolk, NextG officials said.

The majority of the devices will be affixed to existing Verizon poles, through an agreement with the company. But about 35 will require installation of new poles, generally on the rights-of-way between a sidewalk and street.

NextG's designation as a public utility and telecommunications company by the state Public Service Commission allows it to install the devices under provisions of the Telecommunications Act of 1996.

Town officials say they do not have the power to restrict a public utility's installation of poles. Nevertheless, town spokesman Mike Deery said, the town is considering retaining a law firm with expertise in telecommunications to pursue other legal avenues.

"We are very concerned about this and have requested a meeting with NextG and requested they stop work on a couple of sites and remove a pole," Deery said.

At a news conference Tuesday in Merrick, Nassau Legis. Dave Denenberg (D-Merrick) said his office has been "inundated with calls" about such installations. He wants the town to stop the installations or at least require public notification.

Joe Baker, president of the South Merrick Civic Association, said the unsightly poles negatively affect property values and residents deserve notification. "People pay for waterview property," he said. "Now, it's obstructed waterview property."

Deery said the town cannot override the provisions of the Telecommunications Act through zoning. "Our hands are tied," he said.

Copyright © 2009, Newsday Inc.

[RadioRaiders]

...whatta shame, Hempstead is such a beautiful and senic Township ...but I imagine they will disappear as quick as they appeared ...shouldn't take too long before they're stripped by crack-heads and sold for scrap-metal

PS- I thought "NextG" was trademarked by Telstra (Australia)

[Yankees368]

Who knows, but I would like to clarify.
I believe that you are referring to the VILLAGE of Hempstead, which is the shady part of Nassau, near Hofstra.

However, this article is refering to the TOWN of Hempstead, which incorporates a much, much larger area.
Hempstead (town), New York - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Hempstead is the most populous town in the state and the nation with a population of 755,924 at the 2000 Census (estimated to be 765,111 in 2007). It is comparable in population to the cities proper of San Francisco or Detroit. If it were a city, it would be the 14th most populous city in the nation, just above San Francisco, California, and the second most populous in the state, being almost 500,000 people ahead of Buffalo. There is also a village named Hempstead within the town."

[RadioRaiders]

Who knows, but I would like to clarify.
I believe that you are referring to the VILLAGE of Hempstead, which is the shady part of Nassau, near Hofstra.

However, this article is refering to the TOWN of Hempstead, which incorporates a much, much larger area.

...oh, right, I was thinking of the Hempstead, as in "Hempstead Turnpike", and crack-heads. I had no idea the township was so much bigger ...I was wondering what "waterfront property" the article was talking about

...anyway, the whole thing about putting up antennas by finding a loophole zoning laws sounds kinda strange. I'm sure the politicians will put an end to it (...if the crack-heads don't first )

[Yankees368]

...oh, right, I was thinking of the Hempstead, as in "Hempstead Turnpike", and crack-heads. I had no idea the township was so much bigger ...I was wondering what "waterfront property" the article was talking about

...anyway, the whole thing about putting up antennas by finding a loophole zoning laws sounds kinda strange. I'm sure the politicians will put an end to it (...if the crack-heads don't first )

Yeah, I can't wait to see one of these installs.

[Yankees368]

At around 12:45 p.m. on June 1, Melissa Persons drove toward her Leeward Lane home in south Merrick to find a disturbing addition to the waterfront block. A pole, jutting about 50 feet into the air and less than 70 feet from her 10-year-old daughter's room, had been erected at the edge of the marsh near her family's home while she was out that morning.
The pole, owned by NextG Networks, a company that builds structures that "carry cellular, PCS, 3G or any combination of wireless frequencies," according to its Web site, was built without a permit.
Persons and her husband, Stephen, contacted the South Merrick Community Civic Association, Town of Hempstead Supervisor Kate Murray, Town of Hempstead Councilwoman Angie Cullin and state Sen. Charles Fuschillo Jr. It was determined that the marshland where the pole stood is county-owned, but the Town of Hempstead has the right of way. Because NextG Networks had never filed an application with the town for a permit to build the structure, town officials placed a stop-work order on the project, and the pole was removed on June 5.
"I have to tell you, I never realized how powerful one community could be," Melissa Persons said, noting that her neighbors and civic association members helped her efforts to have the pole removed. "I didn't know where to go or what to do, and my neighbors were there for me. It was a really good feeling."
Patrick Ryan, an attorney for NextG Networks, could not discuss how the pole came to be built without a permit or specific plans for the future, but said, "There's a number of sites the company has applied to in the Town [of Hempstead]."
Bill Fonda, a spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Conservation, said that NextG most likely would have had to file for a tidal wetlands permit to build at the Leeward Lane location.
Nassau County Legislator Dave Denenberg said at a press conference on Tuesday that two similar poles were erected on Seamans Neck Road in Seaford, and have not been removed. Denenberg also said that representatives of NextG Networks expressed to his office the intention to install 157 cell antennas on existing phone poles in the Town of Hempstead without building permits or variances. He called NextG's practices "an end run around the traditional tower without a public hearing," and said he is seeking an amendment to the U.S. Telecommunications Act of 1996, which limits arguments residents can make against cell phone antennas being built in communities where they live.
The pole controversy came after a number of Merokeans expressed outrage at the installation of Omnipoint antennas atop a Merrick Road office building, across the street from Levy-Lakeside Elementary School. Though the public was notified of plans to place the antennas, in accordance with state and Town of Hempstead laws, South Merrick Community Civic Association President Joe Baker said he hopes to work with the proper authorities to create greater public awareness of any plans for similar projects in the future.
Comments about this story? SZeidler@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 236.

[Yankees368]

Herald Community

On June 4, Rosalie Rella left her home to go to work. When she returned in the evening, the immaculately manicured narrow strip of lawn between the curb and sidewalk near her home was occupied by a four-story-tall wood pole. Rella had not been notified that any work would be done in the neighborhood.
“I don’t care what it costs to get rid of this thing, it’s going to come down,” Rella said. “I’m not the one who put it up, but I’m the one who pays taxes on this property.”
It turned out that the cellular company NextG Networks had installed the pole. Rella said that when she called the company’s public relations office and Town of Hempstead attorneys, she was told that NextG did not have to get permits or neighborhood permission to erect the pole because it was being treated as a utility.
“We pay the taxes from here to the curb, but we have no say about what goes there?” Rella asked. “I’m paying almost $12,000 in taxes to the town, but I can’t say when a tree goes up or comes down, or something like this.”
Maria Genova, who lives across the street from Rella, said she was terrified that a private company could come into her neighborhood and put up what amounts to a utility pole without any warning, let alone the knowledge of the community. “We need permits to do anything — change our house, install a swimming pool, anything,” Genova said. “We pay taxes on this property. It just doesn’t make sense.”
Susie Trenkle, spokeswoman for Town Supervisor Kate Murray, said that NextG has been recognized by the New York State Public Service Commission as a utility. “Therefore, we can’t restrict where they site poles,” she said. “We’ve been working on this and trying to deal with it, but at this point, what the town is trying to do is work with [NextG] as far as siting them.”
Trenkle said the poles are not technically cell phone transmitters, but are rather a kind of wireless receiver, which makes them different from something a private company would erect. NextG works with wireless carrier MetroPCS, according to published reports. MetroPCS uses a wireless signal to transmit communication much like a cell phone — and for the same purpose — but the signal is actually radio waves, as opposed to a digital signal.
Representatives of county Legislators John Ciotti and Vincent Muscarella both came out to examine the pole and wait with concerned residents on Monday, as they anticipated a meeting with local representatives from NextG. Anne DeMichael, from Ciotti’s office, and Angela Bosco, representing Muscarella, said they were not sure what, if anything, could be done to prevent the poles from being used.
“One thing’s for sure, though,” DeMichael said. “We have never seen anything like these poles before.”
Rella has circulated a petition in her community that she said already has more than 200 signatures. Her goal is to get the pole out of her neighborhood. “I want to get this thing down, and maybe have them put it over by the parkway,” she said, indicating nearby Dogwood Avenue, which feeds onto the Southern State Parkway. “People don’t notice them out there.”
After meeting with neighborhood representatives, NextG Networks said it would be willing to install a light pole on the corner that could be used as a cell phone receiver, instead of the obtrusive 40-foot pole.
Rella said that aside from the awful aesthetics, she was concerned about the radiation that a cell tower receiver gives off. She was told by company representatives that radiation levels are no more harmful than those emitted by a microwave, a fact that is cold comfort to her.
“This is the kind of thing you find out was bad after the fact,” she said. “I’m not worried about the older residents, I’m worried about kids who play outside and have to deal with it. We’re not far from two schools.”
A representative of NextG Networks did not return a phone call for comment as of press time.
Comments about this story? MHampton@
liherald.com or (516) 569-800 ext. 214.

[Yankees368]

Firm angers Nassau residents with 40-foot poles -- Newsday.com

Firm angers Nassau residents with 40-foot poles

BY EDEN LAIKIN

eden.laikin@newsday.com

7:23 PM EDT, June 21, 2009

The California company that has outraged Nassau County residents by erecting 40-foot equipment poles in front of their homes without warning has left a trail of angry homeowners across the country, from Boston to Los Angeles.

But state and federal laws allow NextG Networks to install its fiber optic wireless antenna system on rights-of-way without municipal approvals.

As a result, protests and legal challenges by local governments have generally failed. Even amid protests and legal actions in New York City, NextG has completed 1,300 installations.

In Nassau, the company has a contract with MetroPCS, a wireless carrier, to enhance its coverage by installing the antenna system. It has nearly completed installations at 275 sites in Nassau, with 169 in the Town of Hempstead. Most have been attached to existing Verizon telephone poles.

But about 35 installations will require new poles, generally on the rights of way between a sidewalk and street. Most of those have been installed, and power to all the equipment is expected to be turned on by June 30.

NextG is one of a handful of firms nationwide providing this service to wireless carriers. Officials from one provider say they face the same type of local resistance - until they're able to educate the public.

The other wireless providers on Long Island have been here longer than MetroPCS and already have the poles they need. Verizon, AT&T and Sprint say they've usually been able to update their networks without needing new infrastructure. Sprint said its new technology will probably require some new buildout - which may mean more poles. Cablevision attaches its wireless equipment to Verizon and LIPA poles.

Experts say demand for greater wireless coverage - the kind that lets cell phones use text messages or powers devices to remotely open garage doors - will only grow stronger.

"The only way any of this happens is with coverage and the only way coverage happens is with cell sites," said Andrew Seybold, a wireless telecommunications consultant based in Santa Barbara, Calif. "The closer you are to a cell site, the more capacity you're going to have and the more speed."

State and federal agencies, not local municipalities, give NextG the right to erect equipment poles without approvals. The New York State Public Service Commission deemed NextG a public utility, and the Federal Telecommunications Act of 1996 prohibits municipalities from discriminating by, for example, restricting one public utility and not another.

Robert Delsman, a NextG senior vice president, said its Distributed Antenna System (DAS) - the package that is being bolted to poles - is no more "visually obtrusive than other transformer boxes" and answers a great demand for enhanced coverage.

Consumers "want to be able to get video, do banking and shopping online, watch YouTube on their iPhone, he said. "One cell tower can only handle a limited amount of calls."

Founded in 2001, NextG has been most active in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and San Diego.

Hempstead Town officials negotiated with NextG for more than six months before denying it access to attach its DAS onto town poles. After numerous complaints from residents in Levittown, Seaford, Merrick and Franklin Square, the town reversed its decision.

The town board is scheduled to vote July 7 on an agreement with NextG. It is also working with NextG to see if some new poles can be moved from locations directly in front of homes.

Delsman said NextG has to erect new poles because LIPA won't agree to what the company considers a reasonable fee for space on LIPA poles. But LIPA officials say talks broke down over NextG's insistence on having unlimited access to the part of the pole it uses.

That doesn't help Lila and Max Kleinman, both of whom have pacemakers. They worry about magnetic rays coming from the DAS installed last week on a Verizon pole outside their Merrick home.

"We're not even supposed to use cell phones, or have anything in our shirt pockets on one side," said Lila Kleinman, 80.

Delsman said a study NextG commissioned shows that a DAS installation "is unlikely to have any effect on persons wearing a pacemaker who are not climbing such poles."

[Yankees368]

Found 2 Metro DAS sites today. Will post later today.

Even found a new T-Mobile site.
Where are you, Sprint?

[TelcomJunkie]

Where are you, Sprint?

Counting their pennies!

NextG has used this same deployment method all across the country and every major carrier uses them to some degree. Metro is probably their biggest client right now, with Sprint being another large one.

[larry]

Sprint is still adding new sites here in So. Cal. There's not a whole needed anymore thanks to the Nextel merger but they continue to surprise me with some unexpected new sites such as the latest one in Pasadena.

[Yankees368]

Well Sprint sure has not done a thing here on Long Island since the Nextel merger. Every single carrier other than sprint has put up new sites, its sad.

A Hempstead town attorney announced at a June 23 joint meeting of the North and South Merrick civic associations that the town will fully cooperate with NextG Networks, a company that has been placing cell antennas and in some cases 40-foot poles throughout Nassau County, much to the chagrin and frustration of residents across Hempstead. The meeting came just 24 hours after residents in Franklin Square held multiple get-togethers to discuss a course of action with county officials.
Charles Kovit, senior deputy town attorney, explained that Federal law has tied Hempstead’s hands with regard to regulating placement of NextG antennas — brown metal boxes affixed to telephone poles at a height of approximately 20-feet, or higher. NextG has been given utility status by New York State, and as such, is regulated by the Federal Telecommunications Act of 1996, which is intended to allow competition among cellular providers.
NextG provides cellular service using a Distributed Antenna System, and will be placing 275 antennas throughout Nassau County, 157 of them in Hempstead, which were scheduled to become active by July 1, according to Patrick Ryan, an attorney for NextG. The antennas are placed on existing Verizon telephone poles and are contracted to provide service to Metro PCS. Ryan said that because NextG has obtained utility status, the Telecommunications Act requires Verizon to give NextG access to poles. He said NextG pays anywhere from $30 to $80 a year per pole that it uses, and would be interested in contracting with other cellular providers in addition to Metro PCS in the future.
Kovit, speaking for Town Supervisor Kate Murray, acknowledged that the town originally tried to oust NextG, but decided to cooperate because officials felt they could offer better solutions for residents by working with the company.
He said the town is limited to “managing the public way,” meaning it can’t argue for the removal of a NextG antenna unless it interferes with traffic or public roads.
“Yes, we had some false starts,” Kovit said, “but that’s behind us now, and I think that we’re about to really enter into a new phase with them [NextG] where there’s complete cooperation.”
Kovit said that because the town has decided to grant NextG access to some town-owned poles, NextG will only need to install 12 new 40-foot poles, instead of 24 poles as originally planned.
Thus far, poles have materialized in Franklin Square on Willow Road and Horatio Avenue. Residents in both locations have held rallies and reached-out to local government leaders in an attempt to get the poles removed — or at least get answers.
Last Monday, June 22, more than 75 residents attended a meeting at the VFW Hall in Franklin Square to discuss the poles and try and work out a solution to the problem with the help of local legislators John Ciotti and Vincent Muscarella.
According to Norwood Park Civic Association President Vincent Toma, Franklin Square residents have been hot under the collar over the installations for weeks. Toma said the main issue of concern — aside from the offensive poles themselves — was the fact that many residents feel the town is being manipulated by a company they feel is masquerading as a public utility.
“This company is not a public utility in the eyes of most of the residents and neighbors here,” Toma said. “This is a clandestine, quick assault on a residential neighborhood.”
Toma said the main concerns of all the residents centered around a number of points, chiefly, whether or not the poles could be removed, and what the town could do to prevent other intrusions by still more companies in the future.
Kovit said negotiations are still taking place to determine which poles will be eliminated from the list. He also suggested that instead of 40-foot poles, smaller poles may be placed in some locations that look like what he described as “decorative light poles” with a NextG box affixed to it and a four foot antenna on top. He said this alternative would require more poles.
Residents, including Franklin Square’s Rosalie Rella, have expressed fear for their health since the antennas are placed on rights of way close to homes and schools. In Rella’s case, her home on Willow Road is close to both Valley Stream North High School and Willow Road Elementary School.
“I worry about the kids,” Rella said. “There’s so many of them who have to walk to school, and play outside.”
Many residents described finding antennas placed outside their home, having been put there overnight or early in the morning without any notification. Rella herself said the pole by her Willow Road home was there to greet her as she returned from work.
Kovit could not speak specifically to the notification NextG will provide for antennas placed on Town owned poles but said, “I believe it’s going to be good, strong notice.”
Daniel Collins, chief technical officer for Pinnacle Telecom Group, LLC, a company contracted by NextG, made a poorly received presentation at the Merrick meeting on the safety on NextG antennas, getting into minor arguments with several people who asked questions.
In an effort to smooth relations with residents and show goodwill on behalf of NextG, Ryan agreed allow South Merrick Community Civic Association President act as a community liaison, and attend meetings between Hempstead Town attorneys and NextG attorneys.

Herald Community

[Yankees368]

Hempstead reaches tentative pact on wireless boxes -- Newsday.com



The Town of Hempstead has reached a tentative agreement with the wireless telecommunications company that outraged residents by installing wireless communications boxes on poles in front of homes.

The agreement stipulates that, if new poles are necessary, California-based NextG Networks must apply for a permit. The company also agreed to install the equipment boxes, known as a Distributed Antenna System (DAS), as far from residences as possible: first on public utility poles, then on existing town traffic and light poles or nearby town-owned property. As a last resort they could go on residential rights of way.

The agreement, scheduled for a vote at Tuesday's town board meeting, also calls for NextG to give notice of where it plans to install equipment boxes to poles and also where it plans to lay its fiber-optic fed antenna systems underground.

The company also has agreed to pay the town $500 a year for use of each town traffic or light pole, plus $400 a year for each of the 170 boxes or 5 percent of its gross revenue from wireless carrier MetroPCS for the installations, whichever is greater. Town officials estimate that payments will reach about $75,000 a year.

NextG provides service coverage of any gaps that exist for MetroPCS, a wireless carrier. MetroPCS officials did not return calls. By law, NextG can install poles or equipment on public rights of way or on existing Verizon poles without municipal approvals.

NextG, at the town's request, has moved six of the new poles from in front of homes in Merrick, Franklin Square and Wantagh to nearby town poles and is seeking to move others.

NextG also has an agreement with North Hempstead, where it has installed seven equipment boxes on existing utility poles. The town board approved an agreement earlier this year that requires NextG to seek, for administrative reasons, "antenna location permits" for new poles.

NextG has installed 13 such equipment boxes on existing poles in Oyster Bay Town and two new poles, which required highway department permits. Town Supervisor John Venditto said the town is negotiating with NextG.

In the Hempstead agreement, NextG agreed to respond to neighbors' inquiries and provide at least 30 days notice before installing equipment boxes on existing Verizon poles.

When there is no alternative, NextG may install new poles on public rights-of-way, but must apply for a permit and visit each location with town Highway Department officials.

[Yankees368]

After weeks of worrying and lobbying and making their voices heard, Hempstead residents — including those in Franklin Square — have won a round in their fight against intrusive cell tower poles. At a meeting on July 7, the town announced an agreement with NextG Networks that will allow the wireless carrier to install its cell tower boxes on existing county infrastructure.
The agreement, the result of an uproar on the part of Hempstead residents, has several key components that they feel give them a better chance of avoiding the proliferation of unsightly 40-foot-tall utility poles on their rights-of-way.
“The town did reach an agreement at the July 7 board meeting,” Town Spokesman Mike Deery said. “It basically provides for NextG being able to use town site poles for their transmitters, and to use those in instances where they’d be a preferred alternative.”
As well, NextG has agreed to give 30 days’ notice to residents in neighborhoods where its specialty poles will be erected. This may be cold comfort for some, but it is time enough to allow residents to explore their options, and perhaps negotiate with the company — following the example of Rosalie Rella, who lives on the corner of Willow Road and Patt Place in Franklin Square.
Rella returned home from work last month to find a four-story utility pole standing in the right-of-way near her home. She said she had received no notification, and if she had, she would have put up a fight. What followed Rella’s discovery was a sort of grass-roots uprising, as other neighbors who found themselves in similar situations went to the town to ask officials what gave NextG the right to erect poles without notice.
Now, thanks to Hempstead’s new agreement with the company, the pole near Rella’s home has been removed, along with another nearby pole on Horatio Avenue. Rella had said she was worried about the potential health effects the pole might have on the neighborhood. She was also outraged that her property taxes — a portion of which help maintain the rights-of-way around her home and in her neighborhood — were being trumped by a for-profit company that had been recognized by the state and federal government as a utility.
Rella said she is satisfied with the way the situation was resolved, but she would still like to see a change in the federal law. “It’s just so ridiculous that they could get away with something like that,” she said. “This is America. We’ve got to go to the United States government. I say take it to the government, let’s go, it’s not right.”
Where the pole once stood on her corner there is now only a circle of disturbed dirt as a reminder, and the memory of the pain she felt when she arrived home to find the structure is fading fast. The receiver that would have been installed on it, and another that would have topped the pole on Horatio Avenue, have been moved to existing infrastructure behind a heavily trafficked shopping center in the area.
The town hopes the new policy will prevent any further episodes. According to Deery, everything that can be done at the local level has been done. “We don’t have the authority to control them under the federal legislation,” Deery said. “This is one of the mechanisms we’re trying to use to minimize any impact on neighborhoods.”
NextG’s right to install the poles stems from the Federal Telecommunications Act of 1996, which allows cell phone providers that are recognized as utilities to use or create infrastructure as needed, anywhere in the country. For the time being, the town’s current truce with NextG may be the only way to head off the construction of more of the poles. Spokespersons for some of the county’s federal legislators acknowledged that the federal law may be examined in the near future as the nation’s cell tower infrastructure continues to expand and include wireless and cellular networks.
Deery said that the town would continue to discuss with federal officials ways to help prevent further cell-phone-pole intrusions like those of the past month.
Comments about this story? MHampton@
liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 214.


Herald Community

[hf1khal]

Wow, this is unbleievable. I wonder if Metro will take a big hit in not getting subscribers for allowing this to happen. I would hate to see beutifull areas getting a treatment like that,

[Yankees368]

Wow, this is unbleievable. I wonder if Metro will take a big hit in not getting subscribers for allowing this to happen. I would hate to see beutifull areas getting a treatment like that,

While I have no issue with nextg installing equipment on already existing poles, I think what they did with new poles was just wrong.

You cannot install a 40 foot pole on someones front law one day, without any prior notice. Yes, that land is technically a public right of way, but that just was not right. Nextg got what was coming to them, and it stinks that MetroPCS will get a bad rap because of that.

I did find a new pole that was put up, but it was on county land, and no in someones front yard.

[Yankees368]

NextG war rages on - LIHerald.com - Nassau County's source for local news, breaking news, sports, entertainment & shopping



NextG Networks filed a motion in New York State Eastern District Court on Oct. 21 to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the Merrick Gables Association against NextG, the Town of Hempstead and cell phone provider Metro PCS.

The Merrick Gables Association and a group of Nassau County residents filed suit in late August after months of frustration with cell phone antennas and 40-foot-tall poles that were installed near homes and schools, on town-owned public rights of way, by NextG Networks, a wireless frequency provider contracted with Metro PCS in Nassau County.

The town agreed to work with NextG after it was determined that the New York State Public Service Commission had designated NextG as a public utility. As such, the company is governed by the Federal Telecommunications Act of 1996, which allows it to install structures without adhering to local zoning regulations.

Robert Delsman, a NextG spokesman, said the company does not discuss ongoing litigation. In the motion to dismiss, NextG attorneys argued that the plaintiffs have failed to prove that installation of antennas equated to an unconstitutional taking of property and that NextG's actions constituted fraud, breach of contract, negligence and nuisance. NextG's attorneys also claimed that the plaintiffs failed to satisfy basic pleading requirements.

Glenn Stephenson, lead attorney for the Merrick Gables Association, called the motion to dismiss a common legal tactic and said, "I am confident the case will not be dismissed." He said he expects the suit to come to a resolution within two years.

In a written statement, Town of Hempstead spokeswoman Susan Trenkle-Pokalsky said, "While we will not comment on the specifics of this pending litigation, Hempstead Town has continued to work aggressively with NextG to relocate their communication boxes which have been placed in the vicinity of local homes.”

A Metro PCS spokeswoman said the company does not comment on pending litigation.

Meanwhile, a small group of local residents who chose not to join in the lawsuit picketed outside a Metro PCS store in Westbury on Oct. 23. Six people, including South Merrick Community Civic Association President Joe Baker, North Merrick Community Association President Claudia Borecky and County Legislator Dave Denenberg, a Democrat from Merrick, who is up for re-election, showed up wielding signs that read, "Say no to Metro."

[crood]

I find this law extremely disturbing. It may, in fact, violate the U.S. Constitution. The Federal Government has the right to oversee interstate commerce. This is clearly something that belongs in local jurisdiction.

[Yankees368]

I find this law extremely disturbing. It may, in fact, violate the U.S. Constitution. The Federal Government has the right to oversee interstate commerce. This is clearly something that belongs in local jurisdiction.

Uhhhh, what? The State of New York has designated NextG as a public utility, which gives them the right to use utility poles throughout the state. What does this have to do with the commerce clause?

[crood]

They were quoting a FEDERAL law.

[Yankees368]

They were quoting a FEDERAL law.

I am aware of that, but why? This has nothing to do with interstate commerce.

[cheddar]

I am aware of that, but why? This has nothing to do with interstate commerce.

The interstate commerce clause has been widely interpretted to mean the Federal government can oversea pretty much all aspects of commerce. If NextG is an out of state company, than that's plenty for the Feds to latch onto.

[Yankees368]

WOOHOO! It is great to finally see this come to a conclusion, especially one with a victory for the wireless industry. (oops, didn't see that this was decided almost a year ago!) In short:
"Holdings: The District Court, Spatt, J., held that:
1 town's regulation did not effect a taking of property;
2 wireless communications company was not a “government entity” for purposes of takings claim;
3 owners failed to plead fraud with sufficient particularity;
4 town's alleged misrepresentations were not material; but
5 even if misrepresentations were material, owners' reliance on them was not reasonable;
6 there was no evidence of a contract between owners and town;
7 town had no specific duty to owners under Federal Telecommunications Act or New York common law;
8 installation of wireless equipment did not create dangerous or ultrahazardous condition; and
9 town did not create allegedly offending condition.
Motion granted."

Court rejects attempt to halt NextG Networks installation | Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal

NextG Networks Inc. said Thursday a federal court in New York dismissed a lawsuit against the company by a homeowners' association.

San Jose-based NextG said the suit, which also named the Town of Hempstead, N.Y., was in connection with the company's distributed antenna system in the community.

"In rejecting the claims of the Merrick Gables Homeowners Association, the court recognized the overriding public policy promoting the deployment of broadband, competitive wireless networks such as NextG's DAS networks, which enable wireless carriers to add greater coverage and capacity to their networks," the company said.

The residents' lawsuit challenged NextG's installation of DAS equipment on existing utility poles in the public right of way under an agreement with the Town of Hempstead and claimed the network had caused property values to drop because of the perceived health risks of radio frequency emissions associated with the DAS equipment.

The suit also alleged that the DAS installations amounted to a nuisance and an unconstitutional taking of property and that the town was negligent in allowing NextG to deploy.

The federal court dismissed the entire lawsuit and held that federal law clearly prohibits towns from regulating the installation of wireless facilities based on perceptions of health risks associated with RF emissions. The court also rejected claims that the town was negligent in allowing NextG's installations on utility poles in the public way.

The court also dismissed claims that the town had breached a promise to its residents in 2000 to impose a moratorium on wireless installations and said the federal Communications Act prohibited the town from adopting such a moratorium on the installation of wireless facilities.

Read more: Court rejects attempt to halt NextG Networks installation | Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal

[bobolito]

I am not familiar with what these poles are for, but do they emit cellular signals that connect directly to the phones? or is this some kind of backbone network? If they don't serve phones directly, why do they have to be planted directly in front of houses?

[Yankees368]

I am not familiar with what these poles are for, but do they emit cellular signals that connect directly to the phones? or is this some kind of backbone network? If they don't serve phones directly, why do they have to be planted directly in front of houses?

The DAS nodes do in fact serve as little cell towers, but obviously serve a much smaller area due to their high and single antenna (sometimes they have 2). Here is what the typical DAS node looks like in my area:

or

[bobolito]

Ok, in that case, why not put the antennas on the existing light poles rather than installing new poles? Or do they not have any light poles in those areas?

[Yankees368]

Ok, in that case, why not put the antennas on the existing light poles rather than installing new poles? Or do they not have any light poles in those areas?

Oh they do. Both of those pictures I posted are on already existing utility poles. However, in some places, they did in fact put up new, 40 foot wooden poles in places where there are no poles. The build out in existing poles is really not intrusive at all, no more so than anything else on the poles.