Sleepy Hollow Board Expected To Approve Phased-In Gas-Powered Leafblower Ban

Published 18 hours ago18h ago • Bookmarks: 2

May 9, 2026

By Ginger Lidsky —

After a lengthy debate that began in February, the Sleepy Hollow Village Trustees are poised to pass a resolution slowly phasing out gas-powered leafblowers. On May 5th, after two public hearings, a write-in period where they received three petitions and a work session, Mayor Marjorie Hsu got the board to agree verbally to a phased ban.

If the board approves the measure at its regular meeting, Tuesday, May 12, leafblowers will be banned on weekends for the rest of this year (on top of the current summer ban). Then in 2027, leaf blowers will be allowed only after Halloween until December 21. Properties over 90 acres (e.g. Kykuit, the Rockefeller estate) will have some additional restrictions near their property lines. Then beginning in 2028, a permanent ban will go into effect.
Support our Sponsors

After the write-in period was closed, the Board held a work session meeting on April 7th to debate the next steps they would take. Trustee James R. Husselbee hoped to have an immediate residential ban, plus either a 3-to-5 year phase-in for a commercial ban, or simply no commercial ban at all. Mayor Hsu was against this, saying that “On my street, the majority of people use commercial landscapers. You, in effect, still have gas-powered leafblowers on our streets all the time. So, you effectively haven’t banned it by just restricting residents from using them.”

Board members Jim Husselbee, Jared Rodriguez and Jairo Triguero debate ban conditions.

Trustee Jairo Triguero, who ran with Mayor Hsu on her slate of candidates in last fall’s election, also backed landscapers. “It’s just very, very high cost to start off and switch everything around,” Triguero said.

The work sessions followed two heated public hearings, a written comment period and petitions circulated by Webber Park residents, landscapers and middle school and elementary students.

The second and last public hearing on the subject was held on March 10. It was frequently confrontational, and although speakers against the ban were a minority in the crowded council chamber, they made up for it with aggression. Dr. Peter Zegarelli alleged that someone at the prior meeting was spreading “disinformation.” His brother Phillip Zegarelli came forward to the microphone while another speaker was about to wrap up his remark after going over the time limit. This prompted Mayor Hsu to ask him to take his conversation out of the room, requesting “comments toward the board, not each other.”

At that hearing, the Board of Trustees announced that they would allow for a one-week write-in period for comments or petitions regarding the ban. Ed Andrews had previously gotten 83 signatures on an anti-leafblower petition, which inspired many more petitions on both sides. This huge public response led to several petitions on each side of the issue circulating the town, as well as many write-ins, the vast majority of which were in support of the ban.

Ginger Lidsky is in the 9th Grade at Sleepy Hollow High School

Ginger Lidsky

Image of Mayor Hsu accepting student petitions in favor of banning gas-powered leaf blowers