🔨🏡 A Renovation Crew That Treats Your Kitchen Like a Manhattan High-Rise

🌪️ Tornado Watch Grips Nassau on a Stormy Tuesday

⚖️ Hauppauge Man Sentenced in the Crash That Killed Officer Espinosa

🚭 Two Riverhead Clerks Charged in Underage Vape Sting

There's a certain kind of trust that builds when the person giving you a renovation estimate is the same person who'll be standing in your kitchen with a level three weeks later. That's how Krisztina Szabo and her husband, Attila Bodogan, have run Unique Home Renovation from the start, and it's not a small thing to keep up as a business grows.

The company started fifteen, going on seventeen, years ago in Queens, where the couple began taking on interior renovations for New York City clients, including luxury buildings like El Dorado, the kind of address where a designer signs off on every tile before it goes in the wall, no exceptions. Three years ago they moved the business out to Nassau County, earned their Nassau license, and started building a name for themselves out here while keeping a foot in the city work that shaped their standards. Now they're extending into Suffolk too.

The work covers what a full renovation actually needs: demolition, bathroom tile, kitchen remodeling, carpentry, painting and wallpapering, with a trusted electrician who handles the wiring. Krisztina runs the office, marketing, billing, payroll, while Attila walks every job himself and gives every estimate in person, so he knows exactly what he's promising before a single tool comes out of the truck. Attila's father was a builder and developer, and that's where Attila first learned the trade, the same expertise he brings to every job with Unique Home Renovation today.

Worth knowing: their regular clients are high-end city designers who won't approve anything short of perfect. That habit doesn't stay in the city. It follows the crew home, which means a homeowner in Levittown gets the same level of scrutiny and care as a penthouse on the Upper East Side.

Most of the growth here has stayed organic, built on repeat clients and interior designers who keep sending projects their way. As they settle further into Nassau and push into Suffolk, they're looking for homeowners who want that same big-city precision without the big-city runaround.

If your next renovation deserves a crew that treats a Long Island kitchen with the same seriousness as a Manhattan high-rise, this is the one to call. Find Unique Home Renovation at their website: https://uniquehomerenovationnyc.com/, or reach out directly at 201.284.2246.

Join us in welcoming Unique Home Renovation to the neighborhood spotlight, a family business proving that Long Island homes deserve the same craftsmanship the city pays a premium for.

If your phone buzzed with an alert this afternoon, here's why. The National Weather Service issued a tornado watch for all of Nassau County starting at 2:05 p.m. today and running until 9 p.m., as a line of scattered thunderstorms rolled through with strong wind speeds behind them.

Forecasters put Nassau's tornado probability at 5 percent today, which sounds small until you remember that's the number that gets a watch issued in the first place. Suffolk caught a break, with just a 2 percent chance and no watch in effect. AccuWeather meteorologist Carl Erickson said the bigger threat through the evening is flash flooding and damaging winds, though a strong enough storm cell could still spin one up.

The LIRR and MTA asked riders to build in extra travel time as the rain moves through, so check the TrainTime app or call 511 before you head out. Things should calm down after 9 or 10 p.m., per AccuWeather, so hang tight, neighbors, and stay off flooded roads.

👉 Read more: Patch

A hard chapter closed in court this week. Matthew Smith, 21, of Hauppauge, was sentenced Monday to 7 1/3 to 22 years in prison for the drunk driving crash that killed Nassau County Police Officer Patricia Espinosa back in January.

Prosecutors said Smith had a blood alcohol content more than twice the legal limit when he ran a red light at roughly 70 miles per hour in Saint James and crashed into Espinosa's vehicle as she headed to work. Espinosa, a 10 year veteran of the department, is survived by her husband, a fellow officer, and their young daughter.

Smith pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicular homicide and related charges and forfeited the truck he was driving as part of the plea. “No sentence can restore what was taken,” the DA's office said in announcing the outcome, a sentiment shared by every Nassau officer who knew her.

👉 Read more: News 12 Long Island

Riverhead's COPE unit, teamed up with the Riverhead Community Awareness Program, made the rounds to 10 retail shops over the weekend to see who'd card a minor buying vape products. Two clerks flunked the test.

Police say a 7-Eleven employee and a Gotham Smoke Riverhead employee were each charged with unlawful dealing with a child after selling vape products during the compliance check. Both were released on desk appearance tickets with future court dates.

The other eight locations checked, gas stations, convenience stores and smoke shops around town, all passed. A good reminder for any Long Island retailer: the ID check isn't optional, and town cops are still doing spot checks.

👉 Read more: RiverheadLOCAL

Long Island Local Pulse is inviting local businesses and organizations to be featured in its growing community newsletter.

The platform highlights local news, events and community stories, providing businesses with an opportunity to reach a highly engaged local audience and showcase what they offer.

From restaurants and shops to services and community groups, all are encouraged to participate and share their story with readers across Long Island. Don’t own a business? That’s ok… Know of one that should be featured?

Those interested in being featured can reach out to learn more about available opportunities and upcoming editions. Click the button below to feature your business or send an email to [email protected] with your business details and we’ll reach out!