Former Washington Heights CB Chair Richard Lewis Dies, Board Says

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, NY — A longtime member and former chair of Community Board 12 passed away last week, the board announced.

Richard Lewis, who served as chair of the Washington Heights and Inwood community board in 2019, has died, District Manager Ebenezer Smith said in an email Friday.

Lewis had been a member of the board since April 2011 and had held several positions on the board before becoming its chair last January.

"Richard’s time and dedication to our community will be always remembered and shared," Smith said in the email. "As members of this community, we honor his service and send our thoughts and prayers to his family and all others who grew to liken him as a hard-working person and love for this community."

Smith told Patch on Monday that Lewis' family had not yet made funeral arrangements, but that Community Board 12 will send information as it becomes available.

Lewis served as chair of the Housing and Human Services Committee, Public Safety Committee and as vice-chair for the full board before becoming its chair in January 2019, Smith said.

He decided in December 2019 not to run for another term as chair after an investigation by the Manhattan Borough President's Office cited him for gender bias against female board members. Community Board 12 passed a resolution last week — aimed at increasing diversity — in response to the 2019 investigation.

Lewis was still an active member on the board at the time of his passing.

"We are very sad for his passing — very sad," Smith told Patch.

Community Board 12 oversees Washington Heights and Inwood, bordered by the Harlem River on the east and the north, the Hudson River on the west and West 155th Street to the south. It is made up of 50 volunteer members who are appointed by the Manhattan Borough President's Office.