Cell Phone Antennas in Edgemont? No Way

Edgemont residents were surprised last week by a series of emails from Ellen Weininger, the Educational Outreach Coordinator for Grassroots Environmental Education, concerning a proposal from NextG Networks of NY to get permission from the Town of Greenburgh to install cell phone antennas on existing utility poles all over Edgemont! I was especially concerned for two reasons: 1) Why had this proposal not been made public? I read all the emails I get from everyone (including the Town of Greenburgh) and I had never heard about this proposal even though I live one block away from one of the proposed sites and 2) I am concerned about the possible health risks from these antennas in residential areas.

My understanding of the situation is that NextG is seeking to install a series of Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS). These systems consist of cell transmitters mounted on utility poles right outside of area homes. Some believe these transmitters pose an even greater exposure risk than cell phone towers. No one I spoke to in Edgemont had heard anything about the public hearing that occurred on December 14th .  According to Deborah Kopald, an expert on cell towers and radiation issues, "proximity to the transmitter is a larger factor in total radiation exposure than total power output. In other words, this is the cell tower issue multiplied several-fold; cell towers in residential areas increases more people's cumulative exposure to microwave radiation. Homeowners in close proximity will have more radiation exposure from these transmitters than they would have from most cell towers."

I contacted Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner who said that: the town has an antenna review board that reviews all applications. However, Federal law limits the ability of governments to reject antenna applications for health reasons. Feiner asked the Town Attorney's office and the Edgemont Community Council (ECC) to review the federal statute to see if anything can be done legally to restrict the placement of antennas in residential areas. Feiner stressed that if the town can legally keep antennas away from homes and if the Town can authorize them in non-residential areas, he would prefer that compromise option.

Geoff Loftus, president of the ECC, responded to Feiner that he had consulted with some of the ECC members who are lawyers and they felt that under a Greenburgh law passed in 1998, the Town has the right to not allow cell phone antennas in residential areas except by special permit. Furthermore, in their opinion, Next G does not qualify for a special permit so the Town will be able to restrict where Next G places these antennas. Hopefully, the Town Attorney's office will concur with this opinion and Next G's cell phone antennas will be placed away from any residential area.

There is a following up hearing on Wednesday January 25th at 7:30 pm at Town Hall that is open to public comment. Hopefully, there will be a more widespread distribution announcement for this meeting. I asked Feiner to include me on any email distribution list for this proposal and he agreed to do so and urged me to have other residents to contact him if they also wanted to be included. He can be emailed at pfeiner@greenburghny.com.

In preparation for this hearing at Town Hall, a group of Edgemont residents will have a community meeting on Thursday, January 5th at the Edgemont High School LGI room at 7 pm. All residents are encouraged to attend. Environmental educator, Ellen Weininger , will speak about the dangers of DAS, as well as Deborah Kopald.

The proposed locations In Edgemont are on the following existing wood utility poles close to: 155 Highland Road, corner of Sprain Brook Parkway and Jackson Avenue, 2 Skytop Drive, Ardsley Road (north of Sprain Valley Road), 35 Sprain Valley, 404 Ardsley Road, Clifton Road (east of Central Avenue), 3 Longview Drive, 644 Fort Hill Road, 400 Underhill Road, 37 Sprain Road, corner of Westminster Road and Ardsley road, and 11 Old Army Road. There are also several other locations through the town on Greenburgh. The actual forms filed with The Town of Greenburgh in August, 2011 can be found by clicking here and scrolling to "Town Antenna Applications" towards the end of the page.