All four Roslyn village elections consisted of uncontested incumbent trustees and mayors. All incumbent candidates retained their seats during elections Tuesday night at the Village of Roslyn Harbor, the Village of East Hills, the Village of Roslyn and the Village of Roslyn Estates.
While some villages like East Hills received upwards of 100 voters, Roslyn Harbor incumbent candidates retained their seats with a total of just 10 voters.
Sandy Quentzel ran unopposed for mayor and won her seat. Both Jasun Fiorentino and Joshua Kopelowitz ran unopposed for the trustee positions and won their seats.
In a previous article in The Roslyn Times, it was stated that Jasun Fiorentino and James Friscia were running for re-election. This was a misstatement from Roslyn Harbor.
James Friscia’s seat is not up for re-election yet. Jasun Fiorentino and Joshua Kopelowitz ran for re-election.
Quentzel received nine votes, Kopelowitz received nine votes and Fiorentino received nine votes. There were a total of 10 votes – eight in-person votes and two absentee ballots. Some voters did not vote for all 3 candidates.
Quentzel moved to Roslyn Harbor in 2008. She worked as a CPA, most recently in financial planning at Charles Schwab. After she had her two children, she did not return to work.
In 2010, the board was looking for a financial trustee. Quentzel had been a stay-at-home mom for a few years at this point, but she said as a “career woman,” the open trustee position seemed like a perfect fit.
“And that is that. You join the board and you do the work and then you eventually run a village you never intended to run,” Quentzel said with a laugh. “But it’s great. I enjoy it.”
Quentzel was first elected as mayor in 2020.
She said her biggest accomplishments as mayor include creating a community newsletter to improve transparency, starting a green initiative, building a new playground in the village, introducing a text messaging alert system for residents and converting the lights throughout the village to LED lighting.
Now re-elected, Quentzel said she hopes to implement electric charging stations at the Greenvale train station, for which she says she has already filed a grant.
Her priorities for next term also include a massive road repaving project, redoing the Roslyn Harbor welcome sign and revamping the memorial site at the Greenvale train station, an area she says used to be beautiful but has become dilapidated over the years.
The mayor’s biggest concern for the village is politics, citing changes trickling down from Governor Kathy Hochul’s administration.
All three incumbent candidates ran with the Roslyn Harbor Party.
Efforts to reach Fiorentino were unavailed.
Both Manny Zuckerman and Clara Pomerantz ran unopposed for their trustee positions in the Village of East Hills. Both incumbents won their seats again.
Manny Zuckerman received 130 votes. Clara Pomerantz received 142 votes. And 4 write-in votes were cast, though the names on those ballots are unavailable.
Zuckerman has been living in East Hills since 1978 and has held an array of jobs, from a precious metal trader to a paint shop owner to running a court reporter agency.
Zuckerman was first elected as a trustee in 2000 and was selected by Mayor Michael Koblenz to become deputy mayor in 2010.
The trustee says he has always been civic-minded. Before joining the board of trustees, Zuckerman served as president of the town’s civic association.
Since his election in 2000, Zuckerman has acted as the supervising trustee over security, working to alleviate East Hills crime. He says safety is his biggest concern for the village right now.
“We seem to be living in a crazier and crazier world these days. We want to make sure that we keep the village safe and sound,” said Zuckerman.
Zuckerman is also the supervising trustee over emergency preparedness measures. He works on emergency responses within the village, such as ensuring the installation of a generator in case of storms.
Zuckerman works with the mayor to oversee and approve all village expenses as deputy mayor.
“The mayor and I work together to make sure that the budget is reasonable and sound, that it’s not going to impact the village,” said Zuckerman. “We’re fiscally responsible.”
Now re-elected, Zuckerman’s goals for the next term include working to improve and expand facilities, enforce village safety and hold taxes at their current rate.
“We haven’t increased taxes [the town tax rate] in over 13 years,” said Zuckerman. “We want to continue that. You know, we don’t want to impact on families today because, you know, a lot of people are overburdened by expenses.”
Clara Pomerantz has lived in East Hills for 20 years, initially drawn to the village with two young children because of the plans to build the village park.
Pomerantz recently became a director of education and family engagement at the Old Westbury Hebrew Congregation. For the past 25 years, Pomerantz has worked as a nursery school and Hebrew school teacher.
She has served as a trustee since 2010. A self-proclaimed people pleaser, Pomerantz knew she wanted to get involved with the community right away.
“I like to give back. That’s who I am,” said Pomerantz. “And I felt if I’m gonna live here, I’d like to make a difference.”
She has served as supervising trustee over environmental issues and supervising trustee over the park rules committee. She is also a supervising trustee over village-wide events. Pomerantz said one of her biggest accomplishments is starting a Kids Day program in the park.
Pomerantz has a strong tie to the village park, likely because that is what first convinced her to move into town. She often uses the park to host community parties and holiday events, like the Halloween Spooktacular.
The trustee created a Friends for Friends program for kids with special needs to socialize and spend time with local high school students. Pomerantz said the program provides an inclusive, judgment-free space.
“Each child feels special for who they are,” said Pomerantz.
Pomerantz hosted a technology workshop for senior citizens and invited high school student volunteers to teach seniors how to navigate their tech devices. She also created Neighbors for Neighbors, a program that partners residents together so they can check in on one another. This program can help people in difficult situations, such as an elderly person stuck inside during a snowstorm.
She has organized an array of town events, including weekly Zumba classes, monthly book club meetings, painting sessions, blood banks, a wellness day and so on.
Her goals for next term include continuing her programming and providing high school students with more volunteer opportunities. In the long-term, Pomerantz would like to make upgrades to the theatre and turn a demolished asbestos building on the village property into a new recreation center.
Her biggest concern for the village is overhead airplane noise, which she says has been an ongoing issue and resulted in many resident complaints.
Both incumbent candidates ran with the Unity Party and secured another four-year term as trustee.
Both Marshall Bernstein and Craig Westergard ran unopposed for their positions in the Village of Roslyn. Both incumbents won their seats again Tuesday night.
Marshall Bernstein received 40 votes by machine and 46 votes by absentee ballot for a total of 86 votes. Craig Westergard received 39 votes by machine and 42 votes by absentee ballot for a total of 81 votes. No other votes were reported.
Bernstein was first elected as a trustee in 1996 and has served as deputy mayor for the past 18 years.
Westergard was first elected as a trustee in 2000.
Both trustees ran with the Community Party and secured another two-year term.
Efforts to reach Bernstein and Westergard were unavailed.
Both Brian Feingold and Stephen Fox ran unopposed for their trustee positions in the Village of Roslyn Estates. Both incumbents won their seats again Tuesday night.
Brian Feingold received 27 votes. Stephen Fox received 27 votes. There was one write-in vote, though the name on the ballot is unknown.
Feingold was first elected as a trustee in 2008.
Fox was first elected as a trustee in 2017.
Both incumbent candidates ran with the Evergreen Party and secured another two-year term.
Efforts to reach Feingold and Fox were unavailed.