There are ten antennas being proposed for the roof of the St. Martins school building.
The meeting on Thursday night went as well as could be expected. Verizon brought in several lawyers and experts to try to establish why it needed to go on the church building due to dead spots & being the only facility available. We were informed that the Board could not consider health reasons as an argument to deny this. So, the residents that were there brought up property values, being over-burdened by enough environmental concerns, etc. Alternative locations were discussed, including Sleepys (which we just found out already has 9 antennas on its roof from one of Verizon's competitors), the Grumman facility & the Bethpage water tower (which Verizon was in negotiations with, but it was too expensive).
Click here to obtain the packet provided by Verizon's attorneys.
The meeting concluded with the Board giving Verizon an additional two weeks to submit information as to why the Grumman sight in not a viable alternative. The Board also gave all the residents present, as well as those that couldn't make it, the opportunity to submit any additional comments to the Board during those two weeks. I urge all of you who really oppose this, to do so. Their address is Zoning Board of Appeals, 74 Audrey Avenue, Oyster Bay, NY 11771.
After the meeting, some of us discussed continuing with this fight by creating a community coalition. As some of you may be aware & from what I have discovered, even if the Board of Appeals rules in our favor, Verizon can sue the town & usually wins. So, we may have a long fight ahead of us. I am hopeful, however, that after hearing many parishioners speak at the meeting, the church reconsiders this proposal.