East Hills Mayor Michael Koblenz swore in his son, Adam Koblenz, as the mayor of Roslyn Estates during the Roslyn Estates Board of Trustees meeting Monday, April 21.
After taking the oath of office in front of his mother, wife and two daughters, Koblenz thanked his predecessor, Paul Leone Peters, for his eight years of leadership.
“It’s a pleasure for me to swear in my son,” Michael Koblenz said. “I was at a village mayor’s dinner the other night, and someone said, ‘What are you trying to do, [be the] Kennedys?’ I said, ‘No, I’m still Koblenz.’”
Following Koblenz’s swearing-in, Charles Silverstein took the oath of office for the village justice position after winning the March 18 election unopposed with 50 votes.
Koblenz also won the mayoral election unopposed on March 18 with 50 votes. Trustees Brett Auerbach and Susan Rubinstein were then sworn in after winning re-election with 47 and 50 votes in the March election.
After taking his seat at the board table, Koblenz and the trustees unanimously adopted the village’s 2025-2026 budget, which will increase village taxes by 1.99% from last year, or around a $25,500 total increase.
Auerbach said the budget increase will support the village’s continued beautification projects, including plantings at Azalea Park.
The trustees and Koblenz then discussed whether to introduce a village law prohibiting the use of gas leaf blowers as the Town of North Hempstead and Village of Flower Hill had done.
The North Hempstead ban, passed in 2019, prohibits commercial landscapers from using gas-powered leaf blowers between June 15 and Sept. 15. The town recently said it will be unveiling stricter enforcement measures this summer, including surprise inspections and tougher penalties.
The board then approved holding a public hearing at its May meeting to introduce a village law that would ban the use of commercial landscaping maintenance on Saturdays. Details, such as a timeline for implementation, will be discussed at the hearing.
The next Roslyn Estates Board of Trustees meeting will be held on Monday, May 19, at 7:30 p.m. at the Roslyn Estates Village Hall at 25 The Tulips.
