(Editor's Note: This letter was originally sent to Governor Eliot Spitzer and is being reprinted here at the author's request.)

I am writing to you today to express my strong opposition to the location of a proposed communications tower to be located at the State Police Barracks at Bethpage State Park.

As you may be aware, Crown Communication NY proposes the construction of a 110' flagpole type communications tower, which is proposed to be located directly adjacent to the New York State Parks facility within the Bethpage State Park. The associated ground equipment will be placed at the base of the tower within a proposed 3,135 square foot equipment yard compound secured by a six foot (6') perimeter fence. The site will be accessed from Bethpage Road via the existing Park Police entrance.

Many residents have expressed concerns about the proposed location of this tower. It is located very near to an elementary school and a residential neighborhood. At the proposed location, it will tower over the current tree line. As such, residents would like the proposed location changed to another parcel of land at the park, such as the Maintenance Facility Property. I have been informed that residents of the surrounding area have taken aerial photos of the park, and have located other "more desirable spots" for the tower to be erected.

Crown Castle, a/k/a Crown Communication NY, states that they "make every effort to ensure that our sites are as unobtrusive as possible. If site sharing is not feasible and a new site is required, we aim to reduce the visible impact by:

-Location - whenever possible, we select sites that offer minimal impact on the local environment, avoiding places of recognized importance and visually sensitive areas;

-Landscaping - where necessary we will landscape our sites by painting structures, using natural screening or other landscaping techniques; and,

-Design - where appropriate we use 'street furniture' such as lamp posts or church spires to blend in with the local environment."

Based upon valid community objections to the current site selection, and using Crown's own objectives, I am hereby requesting that you do all that is within your purview as the Chief Executive of the Great State of New York to work with Crown Communications NY and the agency responsible for it's siting, to work with the community to choose a more suitable location than the one that is currently under consideration.

I thank you in advance for your time and attention to this matter, and I look forward to hearing from you at your earliest possible convenience in this regard.

Kemp Hannon, Member of Senate, Sixth District