Rockville Centre
HERALD Middle schoolers donate to vets
Young painters create murals
‘I Love RVC’ contest begins
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OCTOBER 22 - 28, 2020
VOL. 31 NO. 43
Residents: School zone isn’t safe Parents, officials call on county to study traffic near Hewitt Elementary By BRIANA BONFIGLIO bbonfiglio@liherald.com
Courtesy Richard Law
Remembering those they lost Last Sunday, the Rockville Centre Fire Department held its annual memorial service for members who died in the past year. The socially distanced ceremony took place at Fireman’s Memorial Park, on North Forest Avenue. Story, more photos, Page 3.
Residents are calling on Nassau County to conduct a traffic survey of Hempstead Avenue, near Hewitt Elementary School, because of the dangerous driving in the area during drop-off and pickup times. Last Friday morning, several vehicles ignored the 20-mph school speed limit. Four cars and one NICE bus drove past the stop-sign arm and red flashing lights of school buses parked in front of the school. This was nothing new, according to Marleen Maccone, who crosses Hempstead Avenue, at Paddock
Road, every day with her two daughters. “There’s a bunch of cars going down really fast,” said Leah Maccone, a fourth-grader. “When buses put on stop lights, cars pass them anyway. They don’t pay attention.” “The traffic situation during school rush hours at Hewitt Elementary is a nightmare,” her mother wrote in an email. “There is simply no ‘safe passage’ area north of DeMott. Our crossing guard already struggles to manage the one dangerous intersection that provides a safe passage for all our families. This is a difficult task, as drivers CONTINUED ON PAGE 26
Rockville Centre prepares for 5G technology upgrades By JILL NOSSA jnossa@liherald.com
At a community forum on Monday, Rockville Centre residents learned about what it will take to have 5G cell sites installed in the village. The new technology is not yet in place, but village officials said they anticipate receiving applications from Verizon in the near future, with other carriers to follow. The two-hour discussion held on Zoom, was hosted by Village Attorney Thomas Levin, and included representatives of Verizon, who explained the legal, environmental and logistical implications of rolling out the
technology. “There has been controversy surrounding the small cell sites in other towns,” Levin said, noting that the fifth-generation wireless technology requires the installation of numerous small antennas throughout the community, which supplement larger cell towers. He also explained that the Federal Communications Commission had imposed strict time limits for local governments to act on permit applications. “The village decided it would be helpful to all to have a community forum in advance of getting applications,” he said, “so that the community could be informed as to what are the rules
and regulations that are going to apply and get some information about the technology and what the carriers intend to do in the village.” Levin explained that 5G is the “next generation” of wireless technology that is “expected to change the way we work and live.” It is significantly faster and can handle more connected devices than existing 4G technology, but takes up more bandwidth as well. The new networks began rolling out around the U.S. in 2018, he said. “It’s still in its early days, but those in the know believe that the potential of this technolo g y is absolutely enor-
mous,” Levin said. “It is expected to enable devices like selfdriving cars and even more smart appliances.” The 5G signals run over different radio frequencies than other networks, which will require updating signals on cell towers as well as the addition of small cell sites in close proximity to one another — on street-
lights, utility poles and inside or on top of buildings — to provide continuous service. The drawbacks of the new technology, Levin said, include the fact that a “significant adoption of 5G is expected to take years,” and the density of those small cell sites. He explained that there could be 90 such sites per square mile CONTINUED ON PAGE 27