How did Laurelton stop a cell tower when other neighborhoods couldn't?

From the Times Ledger:

Laurelton residents and officials have stopped the metal giant.

Residents and area officials celebrated their victory over Verizon’s plans to install a 60-foot cell-phone tower on 229th Street and Merrick Boulevard Tuesday. The company claimed that the tower was needed to provide reliable service for its customers in the New York City area, but residents complained that the tower would ruin the character of the neighborhood.

Some even worried that radiation from the tower would cause cancer, but there is no research to support this claim. According to the American Cancer Association’s website, “there is very little evidence to support” the notion that living or working near cellphone towers might increase the risk of cancer or other health problems.

“This is a community that stands together,” said Franck Joseph, a spokesman for Councilman Donovan Richards (D-Laurelton). “It wasn’t about fighting a corporation, it was about challenging them to be better neighbors.”

But Dwight Johnson, the president of the Federated Blocks of Laurelton, warned that the struggle might not be over.

“We still have to be vigilant,” he said, “and see what comes next.”

While Verizon backed off from the plans for the tower, there still might be tower installations in the future, Joseph said.

The company, he said, is looking for other options in the area and it might choose to install smaller, less obtrusive towers.