When the Unity Party of East Hills met recently to nominate two members, it received news that Deputy Mayor Lawrence Krasnoff, who was up for re-election this year, had announced his retirement from the East Hills Board of Trustees.

Mr. Krasnoff said that when he ran for re-election in 1996, he did so on his own self-imposed term limit platform. That is, he promised his family that it would be his last term on the BOT. He added that while he was glad to perform his "civic obligation" to East Hills for the past decade and a half, it was also time to turn things over to other public servants.

Mr. Krasnoff served on the East Hills Board of Trustees for 16 years, during the administrations of four different mayors. He was deputy mayor for about half that time, appointed to the position by then-Mayor Larry Aaronson. When the Village of East Hills joined Roslyn officials in opposing the construction of the Stop & Shop supermarket, Mr. Krasnoff was a spokesman for the village, noting that both East Hills and Roslyn shared the same traffic problem that the supermarket might bring.

Looking back on his time on the BOT, Mr. Krasnoff said that like Mayor Michael Koblenz, he was satisfied with the agreement the village made with the New York State Department of Transportation over Long Island Expressway construction in the village, especially concerning safety issues. But he also said that LIE construction was a "behemoth that could not be stopped in its tracks," adding that it was unfortunate that little East Hills had to fight so long with the state to receive the concessions it finally received in a favorable court ruling last winter.

Mr. Krasnoff also expressed satisfaction that the transformation of the Air National Guard property to a village park has already been set in motion. He called the construction of such a park "an exciting part of the evolution of the village."

The Unity Party nominated current Trustee Linda Nathanson and Emanuel Zuckerman to the two trustee positions that will be contested in the March 21 election. Ms. Nathanson was first appointed trustee in 1995 and elected to a four-year term a year later. Prior to that, she was a member of the village's Board of Zoning Appeals. Ms. Nathanson has also served on the village's Security Commission since its inception. A 24-year resident of East Hills, she has served as president of the Country Estates Civic Association.

Mr. Zuckerman has served the village as a former member and chair of the Village Planning Board and as chair of the Village Security Commission. He has also served as president of the Unified (Lakeville) Civic Association.

East Hills Mayor Michael R. Koblenz, also a member of the Unity Party, issued his own endorsement statement. "I have been privileged to work alongside Trustee Linda Nathanson and Manny Zuckerman during my years as trustee and mayor. As a trustee for the past four years, Linda Nathanson has been an invaluable source of support and counsel to me as mayor and to our entire village. I have worked very closely with Manny Zuckerman in his role as head of our Security Commission and as former Planning Board chair. Manny has been one of the most effective and committed leaders with whom I have had the privilege to work with. I am confident he will serve our village exceptionally as a trustee."

In addition, Unity Party co-chairs Larry Aaronson and Anne Croce praised both candidates for their "tremendous experience and exceptional dedication to our village government." As of yet, there is no opposition party with candidates scheduled to run against the two Unity Party nominees.