Election Night In Forest Hills

Keep up with Forest Hills Patch for every victory and concession speech on Election Night.

12:47 a.m:

Republican candidate Bob Turner has conceded his race against U.S. Congressman Anthony Weiner.

Turner, speaking before a group of his supporters, praised his voters and his opponent.

"We have a challenged electorate, but don't quit the system, the people have voted...too bad, and we came up short," he said, giving Weiner credit for running a gutsy campaign and debating him on the issues.

State Sen. Dist. 15

While Addabbo has not claimed victory and Como has not admitted defeat, the Addabbo camp seems to be in a much happier position. 

Como rallied before supporters to say he would be up late Tuesday night, watching the numbers while he trailed by thousands of votes.

"The problem is there are too many discrepancies in the numbers," Como said. "We're down, it's not a secret. We're down by a couple thousand, the problem is...with the board of elections, the numbers are too close and the discrepancies are too many."

11:56 p.m: 

Based on returns from NY1, it seems that the two government reform referendums on the ballot in New York are heading for passage.

11:15 p.m:

With the results starting to trickle in, Forest Hills residents are getting a clearer picture of what's happening in their districts.

State Sen. Toby-Ann Stavisky, D- Whitestone, has pulled into a commanding lead over conservative Robert Schwartz.

Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi, in Dist. 28, is fending off a challenge from Alex Powietrzynski, who trails by just under 200 votes.

Anthony Como and state Sen. Joe Addabbo are still in a dead heat, though the Addabbo camp has gotten excited.

"Every indication is that it's looking good. Joe is putting on his new suit and tie and is coming over," Community Board 6 District Manager Frank Gulluscio said.

The troops are starting to get restless at Como headquarters, though there are plenty of hopefuls.

10:21 p.m:

So far, things have been slow, with results from the New York City Board of Elections taking longer than usual to register, in part because of the changes to the city's voting system.

A statement from the Board of Elections indicated that results would be slower coming in.

"The new voting system requires several additional steps to accurately and securely tabulate results at the poll sites on Election night," the statement read. "The Board of Elections in the City of New York advises all City media outlets that the unofficial election results for today's General Election may not be available as quickly as in previous elections."

In the meantime, supporters have been trickling in to election night parties in Forest Hills Gardens, Glendale and more.