After serving as mayor for the past 14 years, George Wm. Nussbaum chaired his final village board meeting on March 22.

As one of his final public acts as mayor, during the regular meeting of the board, Nussbaum appointed Donald Mortenson to the Village Planning Commission. With the appointment, Nussbaum made the statement, "He has done a lot of work for us. We could really use his expertise."

Following the regular business of the meeting, many community members took the opportunity to express their gratitude to the retiring mayor for his years of service to the village.

Robert Leff, who in January retired as Village Attorney, spoke about the many years that he served with Nussbaum and all that the mayor had done for the Village of Massapequa Park. He said that he wanted to make residents aware of all that Nussbaum had done in the 24 years that he served the village, first on the planning commission and then as a trustee, before becoming mayor. Leff reminisced about when Nussbaum was on the planning commission and the work that he did to make the village what it is today. He spoke of the days when the Bar Harbor Shopping Center was a blight on the community and what Nussbaum, other members of the commission, and members of the board did to remedy that situation.

Leff and Nussbaum worked together on the board from 1980 until Leff's retirement as village attorney. Leff stated, "I can tell you, that working with him, he always did everything in a professional and dignified manner, never autocratic...If he wanted something done and the board was against it, he voiced his opinion and then went along with them." One of the major factors in Nussbaum's success as mayor, according to Leff was his willingness to look into any problems that a resident may have. Leff explained that even if Nussbaum knew that nothing could be done about a problem, he still looked into the resident's concerns and got back to them. Leff concluded, "I really wish to take this opportunity to thank him and I really want to applaud him for his efforts."

As a current trustee, William Van Wagner also took the opportunity to express his gratitude for all that Nussbaum has done for the village over the years. He stated, "Every once in a while someone special comes into your life, and I think twenty some odd years ago somebody special came into the Village of Massapequa Park and we're very, very lucky that this man decided to become a dedicated public servant and a servant to this village and I'm talking about the Honorable George Nussbaum, our mayor." Van Wagner went on to say, "We thank him, it was an honor to serve with him and it's really an emotional thing to be sitting up here for his last couple of meetings."

John O'Brien, a regular attendee at the village board meetings, echoed these sentiments about Mayor Nussbaum. O'Brien stated, "I've been a perpetual member of this audience for many, many years. I've seen a number of mayors come and go but you are the best mayor we've had in this village and I'm very sorry to see you go." He also spoke about Nussbaum's willingness to help residents with any problem, no matter what. O'Brien concluded, "This village is losing the best it has ever had. You have done more for this village than people realize...I thank you from the bottom of my heart and I will miss seeing you up there."

Nussbaum, visibly embarrassed by the praise, said a few words about his feelings as he finishes up his term as mayor. He spoke about how great it was to serve the village in various capacities over the years and of his time as mayor said, "It has been an interesting 14 years." He expressed his belief that it is the residents' willingness to volunteer that makes Massapequa Park the place that it is. Nussbaum added, "It has been a distinct honor to serve the village for so many years... Thank you all."