At the most recent hearing on the proposal by Sprint Spectrum to build three antennas to a cellular tower in Roslyn, that company continued to explain its rejection of an alternate site that would be further away from residential properties in East Hills.

The alternate site would be located near Acura Motors. Sprint currently wants to build its antennas on a cell tower near Rallye Motors. Both Acura and Rallye are located on Northern Boulevard in Roslyn.

Sprint opposes the alternate site mostly on matters of the height of a new tower. The tower near Rallye is 90 ft. high. Lawrence Ray, the attorney for Sprint, said the alternate site is zoned "Industrial A." As such, it would result in a change in elevation of the tower. Engineers hired by Sprint said there would have to be a "substantial increase in the tower size" for it to be effective. More specifically, the new tower would have to be 244 ft. high, lighted structure.

Linda Nathanson, a trustee for the Village of East Hills and a resident of the neighborhood closest to the Rallye site, continued to lead the opposition. She questioned the knowledge of the area by engineers and consultants hired by Sprint. "How can [they] make calculations when [they] don't know where certain landmarks and homes in East Hills and Roslyn are?" Ms. Nathanson asked.

The trustee also continued to make the case against the antennas over health concerns. Radio waves from the tower are already hitting East Hills residents "smack dab in the face." Ms. Nathanson and her supporters worry that such emissions could result in serious illnesses, including breast cancer. Mr. Ray countered those concerns by claiming that emissions from Sprint's choice of towers would be less than 1 percent of federal limits.

Mr. Ray also cited reports from another consulting firm hired by Sprint that the aesthetic impact on the community from the Rallye tower would be "negligible." Since the alternate site would mean a 244 ft. tower it would be more significant in terms of a visual impact on the community than a 90 ft. tower. Such a tower, Mr. Ray also claimed, would "encourage the proliferation of more new towers" in the Roslyn area.

The idea for an alternate tower came up at the April 18 public meeting. Ms. Nathanson endorsed the idea of having the antennas posted at a tower near Acura Motors. She also expressed disappointment that what was "convenient" for Sprint might prove to have adverse health effects on local residents.

At the Feb. 1 public meeting, Ms. Nathanson and her East Hills neighbors were joined in opposition by Town of North Hempstead Councilwoman Doreen Banks. While claiming that Roslyn itself has become a "hot spot" for instances of breast cancer, Councilwoman Banks noted that studies suggest there is a "positive correlation" between the construction of power lines and breast cancer rates.

Also at past meetings, Mr. Ray has constantly invoked the 1996 Federal Communications Act which, according to Mr. Ray, not only stipulates that local governing bodies must act expeditiously on such applications but more importantly, that the bill denies the right of local municipalities to reject applications over health-related concerns and those over visual or property values matters as well.