The Roslyn Harbor Board of Trustees approved a local law on Wednesday, July 31, that allows them to enforce unkempt properties more quickly after ongoing complaints about a resident’s overgrown lawn.
The law allows the village to hire a landscaper to cut a resident’s lawn just 10 days after issuing a written notice — a change from the previous law, which required a 30-day waiting period and more procedural steps.
Trustees said the change was necessary to deal with chronic property maintenance issues that had caused frustration among neighbors and village officials alike.
Under the new law, if a homeowner fails to correct the condition within 10 days, the village may take action and enter the property pending approval from the mayor and deputy mayor.
“It was taking far too long to respond to some of these situations,” Mayor Sandy Quentzel said, referencing a property that had remained overgrown despite repeated warnings.
Also at the meeting, the board discussed recent requests from the Glenwood Fire Company and the Roslyn Highlands Fire Department seeking increased benefits or compensation for volunteer firefighters.
The board reviewed a recommendation from Penflex, an advisory firm that manages Length of Service Award Programs across New York State. LOSAP, created by state law in the 1990s, is a pension-like incentive program designed to recruit and retain volunteer emergency responders.
According to Quentzel, both departments are asking for an increase in LOSAP benefits, but the board had more questions before agreeing. They decided to table the discussion until a representative from either the fire companies or Penflex could answer their questions.
Any change would require coordination with neighboring jurisdictions that also rely on those departments for coverage.
At the end of the meeting, Peter Albinski, village superintendent, spoke about receiving a book from a resident titled “Early History of Roslyn Harbor.”
Albinksi said that reading the book gave him the idea to rename one of the roads in the village.
“We have a road in the village called Back Road. There’s no address on that street,” said Albinski. “Maybe we can rename that road, give it a historical name. Maybe someone from this book.”
Back Road is owned by Nassau County, and the village would need permission from the county before moving forward with any plans. The board said they will discuss it at a future date. There will not be a board of trustees meeting in August.
