Long Island Housing Services celebrates 50th Anniversary of the Fair Housing Act: Gala to honor Fair Housing Heroes

On October 3, 2018, Long Island Housing Services, Inc. (LIHS), a 49-year-old Civil Rights organization, will host its 50th Anniversary of the Fair Housing Act Celebration Gala at Villa Lombardi's in Holbrook, NY. The event will commemorate the passing of Title VIII of the 1968 Civil Rights Act (also known as the Fair Housing Act). LIHS will also honor trailblazing leaders in the field of Fair Housing including LIHS Executive Director Emeritus Michelle Santantonio, who served LIHS as Executive Director from 1999-2017. Ms.

Start spreading the news! Democrats flip 40th statehouse seat of the cycle

Apr
24
2018

On Tuesday, Democrat Steve Stern flipped New York’s 10th Assembly District, giving Team Blue their 40th pickup of the cycle.

Stern, an attorney and former Suffolk County legislator, won AD-10 with 59-41 percent (as of press time). While no Democrat has represented this district in the state Assembly for over three decades, Hillary Clinton won this Suffolk-area seat 52-45 and Barack Obama carried it 51-48 in 2012; tonight’s flip indicates this seat’s shift toward Democrats is progressing.| read more ››

Dems file complaint on Smitelli in Assembly special election

Apr
18
2018

Suffolk County Democrats have filed a campaign finance complaint against state Assembly candidate Janet Smitelli, alleging the Republican hasn’t fully disclosed some funding sources of her campaign.

It was the latest barbed exchange in the contest between Smitelli and Democrat Steve Stern ahead of Tuesday’s special election to replace Chad Lupinacci, who resigned the 10th District Assembly seat after his election as Huntington Town supervisor.| read more ››

Suffolk Democrats hold fundraiser — with no speeches

Apr
10
2018

Suffolk Democratic chairman Richard Schaffer gave 510 party faithful a dispensation from listening to speeches Monday night at the party’s $300-a-head spring dinner at Villa Lombardi’s in Holbrook Monday night, to the applause of most of the room.

State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, the event headliner, didn’t speak. Neither did Schaffer, who said he was happy to spend his time mixing with party activists.

“I think it worked out better because people were able to talk informally one-on-one with him [DiNapoli] and me and other elected officials about issues and their concerns,” Schaffer said.| read more ››

Do April showers bring blue waves? Looking at New York's special election results

Apr
25
2018

New York State Republicans who fear a blue wave in November found new reasons to worry in the results of Tuesday’s special elections.

Let’s start in the 10th Assembly District in Huntington, where former Suffolk County lawmaker Steve Stern, a Democrat, defeated Republican attorney Janet Smitelli by 18 percentage points. This is a district that has been in GOP hands for 40 years. It most recently was represented by Chad Lupinacci, who easily won his last two elections for the Assembly, and then led a GOP takeover of town hall in November by winning the supervisor’s race.| read more ››

Cuomo seeks Senate power change after Democratic wins

Apr
25
2018

ALBANY — Democrats finally won a numerical majority in the State Senate after Tuesday’s special elections, yet a conservative Democrat who says he will continue to sit with Republicans has delayed that victory, even as Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo urged him to reconsider.

When Tuesday’s winners — Shelley Mayer of Westchester and Luis Sepulveda in the Bronx — are sworn in, the Senate Democrats will have 32 seats if Felder joined them. That’s the number of votes needed to control legislation.| read more ››