By day Michael Koblenz practices as an attorney, by night he serves as mayor of East Hills, a role he calls a hobby but an important one.
“That hobby built a park and built the village to what it is today,” Koblenz said.
Over the course of 85 years since East Hills was formed as a village, there have been seven mayors. Koblenz has filled the position for almost a quarter of that time, a period a major change in village starting with the Park at East Hills.
He “turned on the switch” to East Hills’ modern era. Village Attorney Bill Burton said of Koblenz’s 21 years at the wheel,
“It’s wonderful because what we’ve done is transform from a bedroom community into what is now a real sense of community, and Mayor Koblenz has been responsible for the vision and the foresight of building East Hills,” he said.
One way Koblenz did that was by acquiring 50 acres of land from the federal government to convert an Air Force base in the middle of the village into the current Park at East Hills.
The park now offers a pool with a 100-foot water slide, a gym, a theater, a grille, nature trails, tennis courts, playgrounds and sports fields.
Deputy Mayor Manny Zuckerman described the facility as less of a park and more of a country club.
“It’s really like the heart of the community,” Trustee Stacey Siegel said. “I’ve lived here 15 years, living in East Hills and having the park, it’s really become such a great place to live.”
In addition to being full of amenities for residents, the park changed the dynamic of the community, village officials said.
Koblenz said that when he was elected mayor in 1995, the community was divided by eight different civic associations that hosted their own events and gatherings.
“Each civic group would have its own Halloween parade or other event, and they would sponsor it individually,” Koblenz said. “Once we had the park it brought everybody together.”
Koblenz said the recreational center in the park allowed the village to programs such as Kids in the Park, which offers a series of summer gatherings aimed for children, as well as form a Senior Activities Committee for older residents.
“It’s definitely a hub, it put us on the map,” he said.
Koblenz didn’t wake up one day and decide he wanted to be mayor, he said. It happened by gradually increasing his involvement with the community.
He originally lived in Flower Hill, and served on the planning and zoning boards, he said.
After he moved to East Hills with his family, he was elected trustee.
Two years later, he became deputy mayor. Two years after that he was elected mayor.
Deputy Mayor Zuckerman, who has worked with Koblenz for 20 years, said he has made such an impact on East Hills because of how invested he is with the residents.
“The most important thing is he truly cares about the village,” Zuckerman said. “He’s constantly involved with issues that come up, and whenever there’s an emergency with one of the residents, he’s always there.”
In 2012, before Hurricane Sandy was about to strike, Zuckerman said, he had the foresight to acquire a generator that could power the village hall in the case of an outage. When numerous residents were left without power, the village hall was a place where they could have hot showers, light and heating.
“That gives you an idea of what kind of hands on mayor he is,” Zuckerman said. “There’s a crisis, he rolls his sleeves up, and he goes out there to do what is needed to better our community.”
Koblenz and the village board also created an instant access messaging system on the website in an effort to maintain a transparent and responsive government, Burton said.
Residents can send a question to the village officials, and they will receive a response within the day, Zuckerman said. Koblenz answers almost all of the inquiries, he said.
“People are responded to within 24 hours,” Koblenz said. “They might not like the answer, but they get an answer.”
Zuckerman said he doesn’t know how he does it, but the mayor is always there for residents whether the problem is big or small.
“I don’t sleep a lot, that’s how you do it,” Koblenz said. “You have to know how you manage your team and sometimes its hard. You’ve got to balance it.”
As mayor of a village for more than two decades, Koblenz said what keeps him motivated is that there is always something creative and new to come up with to better the village.
He’s looking forward to the possibility of a miniature golf course and a multi-purpose center as future projects for the village, he said.
When residents ask him why he doesn’t consider running for a higher office, he said, he tells them he doesn’t have the time, and he likes where he is now.
