The proposal to site the Fordham  University radio tower on top of a Norwood building appeared to clear a major hurdle last week when it sailed through a city hearing to decide whether it will gain a required permit.

After waiting hours to present their case, advocates for the new site were thrilled when members of the Board of Standards and Appeals tossed out only a few softball questions on the design. The hearing lasted about half an hour. The Board is expected to issue its decision on the permit by March 1.

“The proposal really speaks for itself,” said Rosemary Ginty, the New York Botanical Garden’s associate vice president for Government and Community Relations, explaining why it didn’t meet any opposition from the Board.

Montefiore Medical Center announced last May that it would offer the roof of its Montefiore II apartment building, located at 3450 Wayne Ave. and East Gun Hill Road, to house the radio antenna for Fordham’s public radio station, WFUV. The alternate site promises to end a 10-year feud between Fordham and the Garden over the tower’s current location on Fordham’s campus, which critics say mars the Garden’s pristine landscapes.

The roughly 10 people who came to the hearing were all project supporters, including representatives from all three institutions. Many Board members, who are commissioners from each borough, had presided over the issue years ago.

“It’s nice to see this project come to a conclusion,” said Satish Babbar, the Board’s vice chair.

Board members only called on a few speakers to discuss the tower’s aesthetic impacts and efforts to inform the community about the proposal. Babbar asked if the slim, 161-foot-tower, which will be made of steel, could be painted a different color. He seemed satisfied when Leonard Franco, the architect, explained that the silver-colored structure would reflect light and tend to blend into the cloud cover.

Joe Muriana, Fordham’s associate vice president of Government Relations, briefly discussed efforts to secure approval from elected officials and Community
Board 7.  Muriana described this as a significant accomplishment. “This is not an especially quiescent community about community projects,” he joked, alluding to the controversy over the filtration plant.

Tom Breglia, assistant vice president for facilities at Montefiore, said that Montefiore II’s residents had been notified about the proposal, and that, so far, none had raised objections.

Board members did not ask about health concerns or radio interference, which, according to the environmental impact statement for the design, are in line with federal standards.

Last December, the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation certified that the design did not interfere with aesthetics within a 1.5-mile radius. If the Board issues the special permit, the proposal will move on to the city Department of Buildings and the Federal Communications Commission for final authorization.

Muriana hopes that the approval process will conclude over the summer, in which case construction could begin by fall. About 12 workers will build the tower over a span of six months.