On an April morning this year, a small group gathered near the Sixth Police Precinct in East Hills to plant a tree. Mayor Michael Koblenz was there. So was Park Director Dave Squillante. They planted an Eastern Redbud, and the occasion was the village's newly earned Tree City USA designation from the Arbor Day Foundation. It was a modest ceremony marking the designation.
But look at where they planted it. Not at Village Hall. Not along a residential block. At the police precinct, on the grounds of The Park at East Hills, the same 52-acre property that turns 20 this year. Twenty years after it opened, the park has hosted civic milestones and programs, from wellness initiatives to softball. The pool is still the headline. It stopped being the whole story a while ago.
A Pool Party That Became a Village
The origin is worth remembering because it explains the scale everything since has had to live up to. The Park at East Hills opened on Labor Day, September 4, 2006, on land that used to be the Roslyn Air National Guard Station. The village bought the site from the federal government and spent roughly $17 million converting it, work handled by Galvin Brothers to designs from Ward Associates. The pool alone, a 12,000-square-foot heated basin with a slide over 100 feet long, opened ahead of schedule that Fourth of July after more than a thousand residents showed up on opening day. The grand opening that September featured a concert from recording artist Taylor Dayne and a fireworks show from Bay Fireworks. Mayor Koblenz, who has held the office since 1995, called it a race to the finish line with the best team he could ask for.
Twenty years is long enough for a park to become furniture, something residents drive past without registering. That hasn't quite happened here; the park's uses extend beyond the pool.
The Precinct Tree
The Tree City USA designation is a small thing on paper. To qualify, a municipality has to maintain a tree board, spend at least two dollars per capita on tree care, and hold an annual Arbor Day observance. East Hills had been doing most of that informally for years. What changed in 2025 was the paperwork; the ceremony was held at the park.
"It's really important because we have a huge park."
That's how village forestry contact Boneh put it at the ceremony, before adding that the trees are what keep the property from feeling ordinary. Squillante made a similar point, saying the park gives the community "a place to gather, relax and enjoy their beauty." Koblenz was blunter about the recognition itself: "Not many villages have this."
The ceremony adds to the range of village events held on the park's 52 acres, in a village that covers barely more than two square miles.
What the Reservation Login Says About the Next Twenty Years
The most recent change at the park isn't a ceremony at all. Sometime this year, the village replaced its tennis and pickleball booking system, and every resident who wants a court now has to create a new login before making a reservation. It's a small piece of friction, the kind of thing that generates a line of text on a homepage and nothing more.
But it's worth sitting with for a second, because it says something about how the park is used now versus how it was used in 2006. Pickleball wasn't part of the original build. The courts were designed for tennis, full stop. Two decades in, the village has had to retrofit its own reservation infrastructure to keep up with a sport that barely existed when Ward Associates drew the plans. The park isn't a fixed monument to 2006. It's still being renovated in real time, just in smaller, less photogenic ways than a $17 million buildout.
The Park's Actual Calendar
Ask a longtime resident what happens at the park and you'll probably hear about the pool, the Fourth of July fireworks, and maybe the dog runs. That's accurate but incomplete. Here's a fuller picture of what actually runs through the property in a given year, based on the village's own programming:
| Event or Program | Who Runs It | What It Signals |
|---|---|---|
| 4th of July Fireworks / Labor Day Concert | Village-wide | The park's two biggest draws, bookending the pool season |
| Green Day, Wellness Day (August 24) | Trustee Clara Pomerantz | Nutritionists and fitness instructors set up poolside for residents |
| Kids in the Park end-of-year party (June 25) | Chaired by Stacey Siegel | Hundreds of children mark the last day of school with music and games |
| Mayor's Trophy Tournament | Co-chaired by Stew Faden and Peter Wagner | A competitive fall softball program for residents |
| Senior Activities Committee | Chaired by Natalie Mansbach | Trips and programs for older residents, year-round |
| Tree City USA ceremony | Village forestry effort | Planted at the Sixth Precinct, on park grounds |
The list shows the park hosting a range of village activities, from youth programming to senior trips and community events.
This Month, Specifically
If you're reading this in September, the pool has already closed. The village's own rules put the season at Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend, and that window closed for the year about a week before this piece was published. What's still running: the tennis and pickleball courts, assuming you've made the new login, the dog parks, the nature trail through the 15 acres the village kept in something close to its original condition, and the early stretch of the Mayor's Trophy softball season.
The park's financing structure sits underneath all of this, and most residents rarely think about it. The original construction was paid for through bond sales, and the carrying costs get folded into village taxes. According to the village's own account, that debt load hasn't stopped credit agencies from giving East Hills one of the highest ratings available to a municipality its size.
Twenty years from a Taylor Dayne concert to an Eastern Redbud outside the Sixth Precinct is a strange arc for one piece of property to travel. The park's uses extend beyond the pool, from concerts and fireworks to the Tree City USA ceremony and court reservations.
If you're weighing a move to East Hills, or you already call it home and are curious what a well-run village amenity says about the surrounding market, the Farber Locke Team spends its time in the same zip code you do. Reach out when you're ready to talk about what's next.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
