LI BRIEFS

EAST END/Water restrictions in place

After tracking water use last weekend and gauging this week's weather forecast, the Suffolk County Water Authority will keep usage restrictions in place on the East End.

The authority has asked East End customers since early July to avoid nonessential uses such as car washing and lawn watering, especially in Southampton. Even so, the authority saw record use of 500,000 gallons per minute on July 16, beating a 480,000 gallons per minute high set the week before.

Officials at the authority, which has 1.2 million customers, had said Friday they would consider lifting the restrictions after the weekend, but now will keep them in place and evaluate near this week's end. The hope, officials said, is for rain and cooler weather.

Friday, Long Island American Water, which has 75,000 customers in southwestern Nassau County, lifted its restrictions on nonessential uses.

- WILL VAN SANT

NASSAU COUNTY/Charge in assembly race

Patrick Nicolosi, of Elmont, a Democratic primary candidate for the 21st Assembly District, charged yesterday that the party's nominee for the post, Mimi Pierre, submitted petitions so fraudulent she should be barred from running.

"Not only were signatures fraudulent but also addresses," Nicolosi said yesterday at a news conference in Mineola.

Pierre could not be reached. Her attorney on the issue, Steven Schlesinger of Garden City, said, "I haven't seen the petition. But to say something is egregious fraud, I would always doubt it. It would have to be so permeating as to be terrible and you have to prove that it was a result of the candidate's involvement."

Copies of the petition appeared to showed identical-looking signatures for different people on numerous pages. Pierre turned in 1,200 signatures; 500 are needed. The parties are due in court today, but Schlesinger said the Board of Elections would look at the petitions first and then report the two commissioners' opinion to the court.

In another challenge, Eileen Battle of New Hyde Park and Catherine and Pietro Cucchiara of Franklin Square are objecting to petitions for Conservative Party member Patricia Friedman of Garden City South, running for the 21st AD. They are charging that 51 of Friedman's 80 signatures are forgeries. Because it is a small party, only 50 valid signatures are required. The challengers could not be reached for comment.

"I collected 26 affidavits from people whose signature was challenged," Friedman said. She is also running for district leader of the party.

- SID CASSESE

BROOKHAVEN/Cox petitions questioned

Brookhaven Conservative Party chairman Richard Johannesen has filed objections to petitions filed by GOP congressional contender Christopher Cox and tea party members seeking to wage a write-in Conservative primary in the First District.

Johannesen filed specific objections at the Suffolk Board of Elections in Yaphank, claiming that 726 of the 849 signatures filed were invalid. The Conservative line is important because it could provide 10 percent of the Election Day vote. The petition drive is aimed against the Conservatives' designated candidate, Republican Randy Altschuler, who is embroiled in a three-way GOP primary.

Johannesen said about 130 signatures were improper because they were of people who are not registered Conservatives and 180 had earlier signed other Conservative petitions. Johannesen also claimed notaries who were used to get signatures failed to swear in voters as to their names, addresses and who they were backing.

James Teese, spokesman for Cox, said he would defend the petitions and is confident they will survive. "We used a belt and suspenders approach," Teese said, maintaining separate written statements from voters, who signed for notaries, attest to their identities.

- RICK BRAND