(Michael O’Kane) Students and parents at St. Mel’s demonstrate on Monday, seeking to remove the cell phone towers on top of the Flushing Catholic school. Some equipment actually came down later in the day. Score one for the little guy. .
On Monday, as parents and students of St. Mel’s Catholic School protested the 23 cell phone towers atop the building, workers were actually taking down six of them. The move came as a happy surprise to the group and Councilman Tony Avella, who led the parents at another rally in February.
Elated at their partial victory, the councilman nevertheless spoke for the parents when he said: “We will not be happy until all are down.” Youngsters, just let out of school, held up signs featuring skeletons with aluminum foil hats. About 50 parents, some accompanied by younger children in strollers and their older ones in school uniforms, said they were never informed by the church that the towers were going up. The parish council approved the installations because of the added income they generated, but failed to tell the parents, according to Angela Curmi. “They never came to the parents to ask us if we wanted it,” she said. “And we don’t.” Parents worry about future health problems that could be caused by radiation generated from the towers. St. Mel’s, located at 154 24 26th Ave., had two cell phone antennas for a few years, but last November an additional 21 were added by Sprint Nextel and T Mobile. At last February’s rally, parents and Avella vowed to keep up the pressure on the companies. The parish council later backed down and supported the parents, but the towers remained. Sprint Nextel promised to open a dialogue with St. Mel’s, but T Mobile said its contract with the church was binding. The five year contracts provide the church with $56,000 a year in rent. Eighty percent of the income stays locally and the rest goes to the diocese. Although Avella was aware that talks were proceeding with Sprint Nextel, he was just as surprised as the parents that some were actually coming down on Monday. Workmen removed six towers. Sprint Nextel spokesman Mark Elliott said that his firm “is on the cusp of a resolution” that meets the needs of St. Mel as well as Sprint Nextel’s customers. Removing the six antennas, he added, “was a sign of good faith.” T Mobile spokesman Russ Stromberg did not return calls. According to Avella, the company “has failed to make any commitment to removing antennas and appears to have ceased any serious efforts at negotiating with the diocese.” Frank DeRosa, a spokesman for the Diocese of Brooklyn and Queens, said church officials are still in talks to get all the towers removed. “We’re hopeful negotiations will be positive,” he added. Cell phone towers and antennas have become ubiquitous around the city to meet the growing demand for uninterrupted service. Many people, however, are concerned about possible health risks. The companies claim that radiation from cell phones is about the same as from radios and microwaves. Representatives from the EMR Policy Institute, a Vermont nonprofit group, handed out fliers Monday saying that wireless technology has not been proven safe by the government or the wireless industry. “This technology has advanced at an unprecedented rate without regard to the impact on the health and well being of the people engaged in its use, or living in the vicinity of antenna sites,” the flier said. Last year, Councilman Peter Vallone Jr., of Astoria, called for the Department of Health to study the long term effects of working and living near such antennas. The agency, however, has refused, saying it would cost too much. The councilman also has a bill pending that would require “responsible” placement of such antennas. Offering support at the rally was Paul Vallone, the councilman’s brother, who has two daughters at St. Mel’s. “We are doing this for our community and we will continue the fight,” Paul Vallone said. Avella believes that until all health issues are addressed, “it’s prudent not to put the towers at schools” and is hoping that the remaining ones at St. Mel’s will be down by the opening of school in the fall. But parents like Lorraine Falco, who has three children in the school and is a vocal opponent of the towers, reports that St. Mel’s has already lost 50 students for the fall due to the antennas. She believes the cell phone companies are preying on Catholic schools because they know they are strapped for cash. The diocese’s DeRosa is also concerned about the loss of money. “Without the towers, there will be a problem of funding,” he said. “It will place a burden on the parish.”
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