The TIMES of Smithtown
Volume 28, No. 35
SERVING SMITHTOWN • ST. JAMES • NESCONSET • COMMACK • HAUPPAUGE • KINGS PARK • FORT SALONGA October 29, 2015
$1.00
Nightmare On Main Street
Also: Minstrel Player’s ‘Back to the Zone’, SCPA’s Classic Movies lineup, Halloween Happenings
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Lost love in Smithtown All about elections
Everything you need to know about your local candidates ahead of Nov. 3
STARTS ON PAGE A13
BY SUSAN RISOLI
To all the couples who attached padlocks to a footbridge in Sunken Meadow State Park: sorry, sweethearts. Your public declarations of love were removed recently by the New York State Department of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Lovers worldwide have embraced the tradition of decorating locks with initials and other symbols of partnership, and ceremoniously attaching them to bridges. Fearing that locks would weaken structures and make them unsafe, municipalities have been removing the tokens of love. Twentytwo love locks were recently taken off the footbridge at the end of Sunken Meadow’s parking field 3. The New York City Department of Transportation removed 450 locks from the
Brooklyn Bridge in April. And officials in Paris have been prying locks off bridges that span the River Seine. A recent visit to Sunken Meadow revealed a barren bridge stripped of the locks that adorned it earlier this year. Only one lonely testament to love remained – a heart scratched into the metal railing, bearing the message “LW + GE.” State Parks spokesman Randy Simons said in an email Tuesday that the Parks Department was concerned that, over time, an increasing number of locks could add unsafe weight to the bridge. Locks can get rusted, and that could also affect the bridge, Simons said. Those who put a love lock on the bridge and want their memento back, he said, can LOCKS continued on page A11
Photos by Susan Risoli
Views of the footbridge at Sunken Meadow State Park, where lovebirds once saw locks representing their permanent affection, pictured inset. The locks have since been removed, as shown in the lower photo.