Massapequa Park could become the first municipality in New York State to grant Verizon Communications the right to launch a new cable TV service. But first Verizon has to get past objections from Cablevision Systems Corp.

Massapequa Park will hold a public hearing tonight on whether to approve a cable franchise license for the giant phone company, which would allow it to compete with Cablevision for cable subscribers.

Afterward, the village board of trustees might vote on whether to approve the proposed agreement that has been negotiated with Verizon or might delay the vote, said village administrator Peggy Caltabiano.

"What we are looking to achieve is to bring competition into the village of Massapequa Park for the betterment of our residents in terms of price competition, increased customer service competition and above all, finally, a choice in service provider," said Mayor James Altadonna Jr. The village has 5,800 homes and 300 businesses.

Cablevision, which has 3 million subscribers, has raised several objections, saying the agreement would not give the municipality as much oversight authority over infrastructure work as the Cablevision agreement does. Cablevision, whose cable fees contributed $175,823 to the village's 2004-05 budget of $6 million, also questions how the Verizon agreement would define gross receipts and claims Verizon would not treat all residents on "fair and equal terms."

"This application is deficient and does not meet state requirements," said Cablevision spokesman Jim Maiella.



The state requires that any new cable franchise deal be on a level playing field with the existing franchise. The Verizon agreement would run 10 years, as does Cablevision's.

"Cablevision is afraid of competition, and we look forward to being a competitor," said Verizon spokeswoman Lark-Marie Anton.

Verizon has won franchise licenses in 10 communities in California, Texas, Virginia and Florida and is negotiating with others. By the end of this year, it expects to launch the new service, called FiOS TV, in Keller, Texas, where it has begun trials. In Texas this month, Gov. Rick Perry signed legislation allowing phone companies to bypass local authorities and apply for a single statewide license.

Verizon has yet to win a license in New York but is in talks with various communities. A. Thomas Levin, a lawyer for the Great Neck-North Shore Cable Commission, which represents 15 communities, said Verizon does not want to commit to funding local public access programming on the same level as Cablevision because it does not know how many subscribers it will gain and how quickly.