Before Councilman Eric Ulrich even showed up at his election party at Joe Abbracciamento Restaurant in Rego Park Tuesday night, State Senator Joseph Addabbo was already declaring victory.

The event took place in a back room of the restaurant with no televisions, so the 30 or so supporters in attendance ate food and stared at their cell phones searching for updates on the race.

Just after 12:30 a.m., Ulrich made his first appearance and blamed the Board of Elections (BOE) for what looked like a loss. He said that because of Hurricane Sandy, many who would have turned out to vote didn't.

"It was the last thing on their minds," he said. "The turnout in the Rockaways was cut in half."

Ulrich said the BOE could have made it easier for those affected by the hurricane to vote. He said that some voters he talked to had to walk 40 blocks to their nearest polling station, a problem exacerbated by the fact that people have no gas in their cars to drive.

Despite Addabbo’s declaration on Tuesday night, Ulrich said it was still too early to call the race.

"It's too close to call at this hour," he said, adding that he would wait to see what the results looked like in the morning.

But Wednesday morning, it was clear that Addabbo would retain his seat. With 100 precincts reporting, Addabbo had nearly 60 percent of the vote.

Ulrich said that his first priority is still with his constituents, especially those affected by the hurricane. Other than Election Day, he had suspended his campaign for over a week to help meet the needs of his constituents.

One supporter who showed up Tuesday night was Davis Shapiro, who said it was the councilman’s bipartisanship that most impressed him.

He said it was young people like Ulrich - who is only 27 - that are the “future of our country.”

"They have new ideas and new ways of thinking," he said.

At the end of this heated campaign, Urlich said he still has a great deal of respect for Addabbo.

"It was all about the issues,” he said. “It wasn't personal."