Wantagh Residents Rail Against Cell Tower Plans

Wantagh residents have been speaking out it in opposition to T-Mobile's proposed plan to erect cell towers on the roof of a local temple.

T-Mobile is proposing six antennas for cell towers to be placed on the top of the Farmingdale Wantagh Jewish Center, which is located in a residential neighborhood on 3710 Woodbine Ave. in Wantagh.

Many Wantagh residents have come out against T-Mobile's plan due to fear the towers are unsafe, unsightly and will have an adverse effect on their neighborhood property values. More than 200 people from Wantagh and nearbye Bellmore and Merrick, which also have seen proposals for cell towers, attended an Aug. 16 community meeting at Wantagh High School to express concerns.

"The residents in Wantagh are opposed to the cell towers/antenna being erected on the Jewish Center because it is in a 100 percent, family-oriented residential area," said Wantagh resident Jeanine Boiko. "We're concerned about the health risks but we're also concerned with a decrease in our property values and because the towers do not fit with the character of the neighborhood."

At the Aug. 16 Wantagh High School meeting, Charles Kovit, senior deputy attorney for the Town of Hempstead, said the town will move to ban any new cell towers or antennas within 1,500 feet of homes under a new ordinance expected to be adopted in September. Kovit and the Town of Hempstead released a statement that outlines the town's intention to adopt an ordinance that prohibits the building of any new wireless equipment within 1,500 feet of residential homes, but not schools. The ordinance could be put on the books at a Sept. 21 meeting scheuled for Hempstead Town Hall, Kovit said.

T-Mobile issued a statement on proposed Farmingdale Wantagh Jewish Center project that reads in part, "We believe that our application for one concealed wireless broadband site on the roof of the Wantagh Jewish Center strikes the optimal balance between the needs of local wireless users and the interests of residents- many of whom rely on high-speed wireless service to stay connected to family, work, friends and emergency services..... The FCC provides strong regulation of the wireless industry by setting conservative, science-based guidelines to protect public health.  T-Mobile sites operate well within the federal safety standards established and enforced by the Federal Communications Commission."

A spokeswoman at the Farmingdale Wantagh Jewish Center wouldn't comment.  The temple's agreement with T-Mobile shocked Felicia Onufrey, who has lived across the street from the congregation for the past 19 years, and is dead set against the plan.

"I was very surprised that the temple would agree to do something like this without involving the neighborhood at all and getting feedback first," she said.

"The resolution we hope for is that the zoning board will deny [the Farmingdale Wantagh Jewish Center] application and that T-Mobile will take their plans elsewhere," said Boiko. "Given all the media attention and neighborhood opposition, we hope they just move on."

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