Week in Review: Obama Detractors Protest by St. James Post Office

Proposed Assisted Living Facility Draws Opposition from Locals

While there were two public hearings on the agenda for the Town of Smithtown's board meeting Thursday night, locals packed out the Eugene A. Cannataro Smithtown Senior Citizen Center to speak in opposition of just one – the special exemption to build the Whisper Landing Assisted Living Facility. 

The proposed facility would be a three-story, 99,900 square foot building built on the northeast corner of River Heights Drive and Route 25A in Smithtown.

Locals said it would be a burden to the community.

"Traffic on [Route] 25 is already at capacity," said Smithtown resident William Kerney. "You already have a reduced lane on [Route] 25, which anybody that drives the area knows, you go to work you're in one lane, going through the town you're in one lane. It's already overburdened, why should we add more?"

Patch readers have shared comments regarding the influx of cash-for-gold stores popping up throughout the town, largely that they are negative and could bring potential crime into the town – but not everyone shares that same opinion.

"People can't afford to pay their bills. If these stores weren't here, what would they be doing?" said an LI Gold Mine employee who asked to remain anonymous. "People that come here are people that keep coming back because we treat them with respect ... we're here to stay, we want to stay, and we're here to help the people."

Some say they arrived in town from a need.

"They're businesses and they're legitimate businesses, and some would say they're a sign of the economy," said Mark Mancini, president of the Greater Smithtown Chamber of Commerce.

Obama Detractors Protest by St. James Post Office [Photos]

Members of the LaRouche PAC protested Thursday outside of the St. James Post Office on Lake Avenue, with signs and speeches proclaiming President Barack Obama should be impeached. 

The LaRouche PAC is an international campaign pushing for the impeachment of Obama, according to organizer Lynne Speed. Speed said the political action committee is calling for the immediate impeachment of the president for several reasons, mainly because of the murder of the U.S. Ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens.

Tropical Smoothie Café Opens on Main Street

The Smithtown food landscape has grown with the Saturday opening of Tropical Smoothie Café. 

The eatery, located at 32 East Main Street nearMannino's Pizzeria & Restuarant and Baja Grill, is solely owned and operated by Stony Brook resident Dana Bush. Bush also owns another Tropical Smoothie Café location in Port Jefferson Station, which she opened roughly a year and a half ago.  

“My husband and I have been throwing around the idea of different franchises for a couple of years, never did anything serious about it, it started to look a little bit soft,” she said. “When I went into one of these I saw a franchise for sure, it seemed like the right fit.”

Smithtown Library Now Open [Photos]

The Smithtown branch of the Smithtown Special Library District was closed for more than a year as renovations were performed, and now it is open once again.

"We're so proud. It's a long time coming but it's here," said Joseph Vallone, president of the library's board of directors. "The contractor did a wonderful job, the artchitect did a wonderful job, our staff – I can't say enough about them ... they did a tremendous job."

Owner to Sell St. James Bakery

After eight years in St. James, the owner of Premiere Pastry Shop on Route 25A is looking to sell and move on to a new and undetermined business venture.

The owner Nick, who declined to provide his last name, said while St. James has been good to him, the time is now to leave and start a new business.

Two Smithtown men and a Kings Park man were arrested on first-degree robbery charges after punching, kicking and hitting a male victim with a hammer and leaving with his personal belongings in Elmont on Friday, according to police.

Police said Brandon Dietrich, 24, and Brian Nenos, 25, both of Smithtown, and Eric Broecker, 24, of Kings Park, approached the 22-year-old male victim in a 2002 Infiniti while he was standing on Bell Street near Bishop Place smoking a cigarette. Reports state Dietrich and Broecker got out of the car and punched and kicked the man, and hit his body with a hammer multiple times. They then took the victim’s iPhone, watch, car keys, and money, then dragged him on the ground and threw him into a creek on Bell Street, police said.