NOVEMBER 2020 • LONGISLANDPRESS.COM 9
IN THE NEWS
OLD BROOKVILLE POLICE CELL TOWER UPROAR
BY TIMOTHY BOLGER
Five Gold Coast villages are sounding
the alarm that a proposal to build a cell
phone tower at Old Brookville Police
Department headquarters could handcuff
cops’ ability to quickly respond to
emergencies.
The Village of Upper Brookville, which
owns the land where the OBPD station
house is located, swatted away the critics
when the board of trustees unanimously
passed a resolution paving the
way for the construction. Now the other
five surrounding villages in a six-way
OBPD protection partnership say Upper
Brookville has run afoul of their
agreement by putting their neighbors’
lives at risk — an allegation cell tower
proponents deny.
“It is a detriment to — besides your residents
— to your five other partners,”
Old Brookville Village Trustee Matt
Schamroth, a member of OBPD’s board
of commissioners that oversees the
department’s operations, told the Upper
Brookville village board before the vote
at its Oct. 6 meeting. “It would be criminal
if the lack of response time because
something has now been slowed down
results in something that you can’t undo.”
OBPD also serves the villages of
Brookville, Mill Neck, Cove Neck, and
Matinecock, the mayors of which joined
Old Brookville in charging that Upper
Brookville should find another place
for the tower that won’t potentially slow
police response times.
“We do not believe you can reasonably
take the position that the construction
of the cell tower will not interfere with
police department operations if ... contractors
and vendors need access to the
parking lot in order to construct and/
or maintain the cell tower,” Mill Neck
Mayor Peter Quick wrote to Upper
Brookville’s board of trustees in a letter
obtained by the Press.
None of the critics disagree that cell
service in the communities dotting
northwestern Nassau County need improvement.
But the five village leaders
opposing Upper Brookville are worried
that work crews taking over the OBPD
The Old Brookville Police Department serves Brookville, Old Brookville, Upper Brookville, Mill Neck, Cove Neck,
and Matinecock. (Photo by Ed Shin)
parking lot will impede police officers
from responding as quickly as possible
to 911 calls.
“My job, which is an efficient and
effective operation of this police department
for everybody ... should not
be interfered with,” said OBPD Chief
Christopher Walsh.
Critics add that after construction is
done, maintenance crews — one for each
of the handful of service providers that
often share cell towers — will need to
visit the tower at least monthly, if not
more, potentially blocking traffic in
the small OBPD parking lot for years to
come.
Upper Brookville Mayor Elliot Conway,
whose village stands to earn $30,000 annually
from each cell phone company
that shares the tower, shot back that the
need to improve cell service outweighs
other concerns.
“While the installation of a mobile antennae
may have some negative impacts in regard
to aesthetics, this impact is more than
offset by the improved level of service for
the public, including health and safety
benefits, and the additional revenue to
the village,” Conway said while reading
a study the village had commissioned to
examine the issue. “The amount of traffic
to and from the site will be minimal with
only a visit or two a month at most.”
Conway cited Federal Communications
Commission statistics showing 60
percent of homes have no landline telephones
and an estimated 80 percent of
911 calls are made from cell phones.
“The police can’t come if they never
get the call,” added Upper Brookville
Trustee Carl A. Friedrich. “There’s no
delay greater than when police are not
able to get the call on the first, second, or
third attempt due to inferior cell service
in the area.”
Matinecock Village Deputy Mayor Albert
Kalimian countered that the OBPD
serves more people than the proposed
cell tower.
“The tower that you’re proposing putting
on the police headquarters only
satisfies 200 or 250 of your residents,
whereas the tower impacting the police
impacts 10,000 residents,” he said.
“There is a magnitude here of importance
… and police coverage trumps cell
coverage for 250 residents.”
Like Schamroth of Old Brookville, Kalimian
also serves on the OBPD board
of commissioners along with Conway of
Upper Brookville and officials from the
other three villages.
Asked to comment on concerns that the
tower might delay OBPD police response
times, AT&T, which is in talks with
Upper Brookville to build the 140-foot
tower, dodged the question.
A company spokeswoman said, “We
continually work to improve our
network and we will coordinate with
the Village of Upper Brookville as
we build the critical infrastructure
that will enhance coverage for Long
Island residents, guests, and first
responders.”
“My job, which is an efficient and effective
operation of this police department for everybody ...
should not be interfered with,”
said OBPD Chief Christopher Walsh
/LONGISLANDPRESS.COM
