George Cominskie
Local Hero
and a GVSHP 2020 awardee.

Greenwich Villager Society For Historic Preservation
2020 Village Award
Regina Kellerman Award

Each year, Village Preservation honors neighborhood institutions at the Annual Meeting and Village Awards. This fun event highlights and celebrates the invaluable people, place, and organizations who make our neighborhoods some of the most interesting and exceptional in the city.

George served on the Westbeth Artists Residents Council for twenty-one years, seventeen of them as its president. An active volunteer and fundraiser for God’s Love We Deliver, AIDS Ride, and the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, George also helped lead Westbeth and its residents through the incredibly difficult recovery from Sandy, when the lower floors of the complex containing residents’ artworks were flooded and many apartments evacuated for long periods of time. George is currently running the Emergency Response Committee at Westbeth to help residents of the affordable housing artists complex, many of whom are elderly, cope with the COVID-19 pandemic.

GVSHP is hosting a virtual celebration for George and the other notable 2020 Village awardees on June 17, 2020

To Register for the Virtual event which will take place on zoom, click here

Local Hero
When times are tough, heroes emerge. We all know someone who’s making a difference right now as we live through unprecedented times. Here at Patch, we’ve launched an initiative to help recognize these everyday heroes.

This submission highlights George Cominskie, a community organizer at the Westbeth Artists Housing complex who stepped up for more than 380 of his neighbors during the coronavirus crisis.
George organized the Westbeth (Artist Housing) Emergency Response Committee and under his leadership organized the distribution of free masks, free safety goggles, food deliveries to 384 apartments, many of which are occupied by seniors or physically challenged. He is in constant communication with elected officials and donors, provides counsel, and compassion. When one tenant passed away (not from coronavirus), he was the one the family depended upon to take care of things. He has galvanized volunteer efforts from all the residents and has worked tirelessly with management to provide a safe, healthy and positive environment for all residents and essential personnel. In the opinion of many, his efforts has saved lives.

Read more HERE

George Cominskie Brief Bio

George Cominskie was President of the Westbeth Artists Residents Council for many years and is now currently a member of the Westbeth Board of Directors. He and his husband , John Turner, photographer and graphic designer, have lived at Westbeth for 25 years. For the past 21 years he has volunteered at Gods Love We Deliver.