Photos by Greg Apisson.

Last Wednesday, Preservation Long Island presented a 2022 Preservation Award to Mayor Michael Koblenz and the Village of East Hills for “their organizational excellence in leading municipal best practices to preserve the historic John Mackay III’s Happy House.” The award was presented to Mayor Koblenz by Preservation Long Island’s Alexandra Wolfe, executive director, and Sarah Kautz, director of preservation.

Members of the Roslyn Landmark Society, neighbors and East Hills officials attended the celebration held at the John Mackay III House at 2A Melby Lane in East Hills. Constructed in 1929 using stone masonry, Happy House was originally built for John Mackay III, grandson of John Mackay, who was one of the discoverers of the Comstock silver mines in the 1870s. His father, Clarence Mackay, was owner of the 648-acre Harbor Hill estate which made up much of East Hills from 1902 to the 1940s. The original 28-acre property was given by Clarence Mackay in May 1929 as a gift to his son.

In 2017, the previous owners of the property submitted an application that would demolish the historic house and create a four-lot subdivision. After four years of public hearings, the Village of East Hills reached an agreement with the owners that preserved the building and allowed two buildable lots on the property. Mayor Koblenz commented, “History is a part of the fabric of our society. Through this resolution we preserve our past and embrace it as part of our culture in East Hills.”

Preservation Long Island ‘s Director of Preservation Sarah Kautz said, “We applaud the exemplary efforts of community members and village officials, especially Mayor Michael Koblenz, the Village Trustees, and the Planning Board. We also thank our colleagues at the Roslyn Landmark Society who organized the local advocacy efforts and sponsored the property’s listing as one of Preservation Long Island’s 2021 Endangered Historic Places. We hope the Happy House agreement will inspire other municipal governments to improve local preservation outcomes by pursuing more comprehensive processes of review.”

Howard Kroplick, co-president of the Roslyn Landmark Society and an East Hills resident, commented, “Since 2017, the Roslyn Landmark Society and Preservation Long Island have advocated to save this historic building and supported feasible and prudent alternatives. We congratulate Mayor Koblenz and the Village of East Hills for this wonderful outcome and this much deserved award for protecting the history of East Hills.”

From left to right: Alexandra Wolfe, executive director of Preservation Long Island, Mayor Michael Koblenz, Sarah Kautz, director of preservation of Preservation Long Island.

Views of Happy House.

The May 29, 1929 commercial cable from Clarence Mackay informing his son that he had deeded him the 28-acres where Happy House was being built.