With the village election over, village board members, department heads and residents bid a fond farewell to Mayor Robert Lewis last Thursday as he presided over his last trustees' meeting. Community members commended Lewis' 11 years of board participation, his last two as mayor of Garden City.

Mayor-elect Barbara Miller, who earned 107 votes earlier this month, thanked Lewis for his commitment. "I've learned a lot about how passionate you are about this village. I will certainly miss your wealth of knowledge and found it to be a pleasure working for and with you," she said. "You've helped me step up to the leadership role I'm about to take. I'm confident that I can do the job well because you've done it so well."

Trustee John Watras, who's worked with Lewis on Wall Street, said he appreciates the mayor's candor and sincerity and hopes he doesn't step aside completely but continues to help with important issues like St. Paul's.

Fellow trustee Peter Negri told Lewis he was impressed with his "encyclopedic knowledge" of what goes on in Garden City while trustee John Mauk, who didn't always see eye to eye with Lewis on several issues, echoed comments about Lewis' perseverance and focus. "I wish you well Bob," Mauk said.

Building Superintendent Mike Filippon, who said he's known Lewis for quite some time, told him that subtlety might not be his strong suit. "But we always knew where you stood on issues and we understood and appreciated that," he said.

Village Counsel Gary Fishberg, who represented Lewis when he and his family purchased their first house in Garden City, wished him well in the future while trustee Jon Segerdahl assured Lewis that the village is better off today than it was two years ago when he began his mayoral term.

Several presidents of the village's property owners associations, including Jon Schwieger (Estates POA), Bob Nouryan (Central POA) and Nick Episcopia (Eastern POA), applauded Lewis' dedication, along with Garden City Chamber of Commerce representatives Althea Robinson and Bert Donley. "I haven't known you for 11 years but I've seen in the last couple of years what you've been able to perform. I think you've done an excellent job working with a very varied group of people," Nouryan said.

Lewis in turn thanked fellow trustees and all who worked with him during his tenure, praising many of the department heads, including Police Commissioner Ernest Cipullo and Fire Captain Eric Shields, for staying on board when he encouraged them to at the onset of his term.

"To the village, it's been an honor to serve you for 11 years. To the residents, I don't know if it's a better village since I got here but I do know it's a wonderful village where I've raised two kids. This has truly been an extraordinary experience."