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Politics & Government

Proposed Transmission Tower, Cell Antenna Tabled

Parties agree to stop construction in a Lake Ronkonkoma neighborhood as other possible locations are explored.

Construction of a 130-foot Long Island Power Authority transmission tower in a Ronkonkoma neighborhood, which was to include a 19-foot cell phone antenna to be rented by T-Mobile, was suspended following a meeting Wednesday afternoon between neighborhood residents, representatives of both T-Mobile and LIPA, and Town of Brookhaven officials.

The agreement was reached between the Town, LIPA and T-Mobile to halt further work pending an evaluation of other possible sites for the antenna.

T-Mobile spokesperson Jane Builder said at least half a dozen other locations would be looked into during the evaluation process, which she estimated would take several weeks to complete.

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Residents from the neighborhood - located between Lake Ronkonkoma and the Long Island Expressway - expressed their disapproval of the original proposal, citing insufficient communication on the part of the Town, safety issues (the site of the original proposal is near a school bus stop) and possible declines in property value. 

Resident Jamie Mare, addressing Councilman Tim Mazzei at the opposite end of the table, said during one exchange that this was the second time her and other local residents had to oppose LIPA. The first occasion was in 2006, when a now-scuttled plan to reroute the Iroquois gas pipeline was proposed to connect Commack to Yaphank's Caithness facility, passing underground along LIPA's rights-of-way in the neighborhood.

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"The Town is supposed to be representing us. We're left fighting by ourselves. The Town should work to support the residents better. We are the forgotten area of Brookhaven. Things get snuck in here, and I'm tired of it."

"If I didn't care about the Ronkonkoma area, we wouldn't be having this meeting," countered Mazzei, who also proposed drafting legislation to further engage residents regarding future proposals. "I want you to know the town cares."

Mare said she appreciated that some progress had been made, although in her opinion it was an uneasy truce at best - she believed there was still work to be done.

"I'm happy to hear the town wants to improve and strengthen the codes, but I worry about the follow-through," she said. "Should we lose this, I will not stop fighting the Town."

Also in attendance, LIPA spokesperson Vanessa Baird-Streeter the residents had higlighted their issues to LIPA at a February board meeting. LIPA then convened a meeting with T-Mobile to inform them of the resident's concerns and asked T-Mobile to address the issues highlighted.

"The information provided to the residents yesterday was an outcome of the meeting we initiated with T-Mobile," Baird-Streeter said.

Lake Ronkonkoma Civic Organization president George Schramm said that aesthetics was a key issue, which he hopes can be ameliorated should the proposal return to the area.

"It was good of them to redo the analysis," he said.

T-Mobile was bought up by AT&T on March 20, according to an article on Business Insider, in a $39 billion transaction. It is as yet unknown what effect the sale will have on this or other proposed installations. 

Check back with Sachem Patch for further updates.

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