Week in Review: Library Budget Passes; H2O Celebrates 11 Years

Smithtown Resident Opens Car Dealership in St. James

One of your neighbors has decided to keep his new business local and take over a vacant St. James storefront with the opening of Certified HQ, a used car dealership on Middle Country Road.

The dealership is set to open Saturday. 

Brian Smith, owner of the dealership and a Smithtown resident, started in the car sales industry when he was 13 years old, washing cars on the lot at his dad’s dealership Mark Motors in West Islip. After his dad retired and moved Smith looked to re-open his dealership, but ultimately decided to stay local. 

New Tapas Restaurant Coming to St. James

With the popular St. James restaurant O's Food and Wine Bar closing, Five.Five2 will be moving in.

The new eatery will take over the 552 Route 25A location, and according to an employee, should be open by the end of October. Another employee setting up the restaurant Thursday said it will serve an international tapas cuisine.

The owner of Five.Five2 was not available for comment.

Main Street Masterpieces Gallery Open [Photos]

The Main Street Masterpieces gallery is now open, displaying the artwork of those with developmental disabilities from four agencies – ACDS, ACLD, FREE and DDI.

The gallery features photography, drawings, paintings and more from the four agencies, which also includes a collaborative effort between the agencies illustrating an excerpt from a speech by John F. Kennedy.

Smithtown Continues to Flight Blight

The Town of Smithtown has taken further steps towards cleaning and ridding the town of blighted properties by targeting three specific homes in Smithtown and Kings Park for cleanup on recent town board agendas.

The process of addressing the town’s blighted properties began in June of last year with town councilmen Robert Creighton, Kevin Malloy and Edward Wehrheim forming a master list of 19 properties considered blighted in the town. 

“We’re not looking to take them all on at once, but we’re dealing with the ones that seem to get more attention like on Fairview [Avenue] and Hightower [Homes],” said Town Attorney John Zollo. “We’re getting phone calls from residents about the conditions.” 

Library Budget Passes; 2 Candidates Get Trustee Seats

The proposed Smithtown Special Library District budget was passed Tuesday night, and two library trustee seats were filled with one candidate retaining his seat.

The budget for 2013 totalling $13,321,568 was passed with 1,006 votes in favor to 768 in opposition.

The budget includes a 2.75 percent tax levy increase that would result in a $8.34 increase in annual taxes per household.

H2O Celebrates 11 Years in Business

Longevity may not be the norm with restaurants today, but H2O in Smithtown has managed to last 11 years in its West Main Street location, helmed by brothers and co-owners Michael and Kurt Bohlsen. 

Michael attributes much of the restaurant’s success to the loyalty of its guests. 

“The people here are very genuine, they’re very loyal,” he said. “We’ve developed a lot of relationships with the people that live right behind us and all around us.”