Week in Review: No Seat Changes in Any Local Race on Election Day

Fitzpatrick Will Celebrate Victory After Locals Get Power Back

While fresh off being re-elected and clear goals to relieve mandates on local government and help eliminate the tax burden from his constituents, Assemblyman Michael Fitzpatrick, R-St. James, believes now is not the time to celebrate his victory.

"I'm not really savoring the victory today because it's just been very busy trying to help people with the storm situation," he said. "When this calms down I'll take a little time and celebrate, take my wife out to dinner and we'll have a nice evening, but right now I'm focused on helping people get their lights back on."

New York State assemblyman Michael Fitzpatrick won re-election to his sixth term by a landslide on Tuesday night. 

Fitzpatrick, R-St. James, defeated his challenger Jesse Safer, D-Commack, by 20,419 to 8,718 votes. There are 60 out of 103 districts reporting at 10:30 p.m., according to Suffolk County Board of Elections.

Gillibrand Wins; Heads Into First Full Term

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand will handily beat Republican challenger Wendy Long on Tuesday, winning her first full, six-year term since being appointed by former Gov. David Paterson in 2009, CNN, NBC, CBS and the New York Timesare reporting.

Bishop Defeats Altschuler in Rematch

Two years after barely defeating Republican Randy Altschuler in a tight race, incumbent Rep. Tim Bishop defeated him again Tuesday, this time by a wider margin.

The victory, which Altschuler conceded, came at a wider margin than 2010, with Bishop holding above 52 percent of the vote based on unofficial results. 

Hurricane Sandy brought down trees throughout the Town of Smithtown, some of which remain, over a week later, tangled up in power lines.

For those looking to see who is responsible for having them removed, the duties are split between the town and the Long Island Power Authority, depending on certain variables.

“We’re not allowed to touch them if they’re in the lines. LIPA has their own contractors that take care of that,” said Glenn Jorgensen, superintendent of highways for the town.

Locals Seeing Shorter Lines on First Morning of Odd-Even Gas Rationing

Lines for gas appeared noticeably shorter in Smithtown Friday morning as the first day of temporary mandatory gas rationing went into effect.

A drive along 25A from St. James into Kings Park showed lines with no more than 6-8 cars and wait times at 10 minutes or less. Customers were happy with the change, but station owners said it was a little too late.

Sertinos Closing Final; Item Auction Set for Wednesday

The final efforts to bring in a partner and save Sertinos Cafe have fallen through and the West Main Street eatery is now closed.

Owner Craig Lowenthal said after posting on Facebook that the location would be closing that two potential partners emerged and he would meet with them Oct. 26, the Friday before the scheduled Oct. 28 closing date.

Sertinos Cafe Now Vacant After 1 Year [Empty in Smithtown]

Sertinos Cafe took over the former home to Sizzler on West Main Street in Smithtown in August 2011 and doors closed this past October.

The official closing date was Oct. 28.

Numbers of power outages continue to decrease across Long Island with LIPA crews working on restoration efforts out day and night, but there are still two towns in Suffolk in the dark that are troubling LIPA – St. James and Port Jefferson.

According to Mark Gross, spokesperson for LIPA, the intent is to get power back to 90-percent of its customers by Wednesday and then take the all of the work crews over to the areas hit with the most physical damage. 

Late Night Blaze Takes Out Shed in Smithtown

Firefighters from the Smithtown Fire Department battled a fire in a detached shed in Smithtown on Monday night, putting it out before it could hit the home.

First Assistant Chief Steven Sisino of the Smithtown Fire Department said firefighters responded to a call at 7:19 p.m. where a fire was contained to a detached shed at the home located at 10 Rosalia Ct. Sisino said the homeowners left a generator powered on in the shed before leaving the home.