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Friday, July 19, 2024
Vol. 99, No. 29
KIDS GUIDE
HOCHUL VISITS NASSAU OFFICIALS REACT G.N. WATER DISTRICT TO TRUMP SHOOTING
PAGES 19-22
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Rory Lancman appointed vice chair of NIFA Great Neck resident says seeking to continue org’s watchdog responsibilities BY C A M E RY N O A K ES Great Neck’s Rory Lancman was appointed as vice chair of the Nassau Interim Finance Authority, a role as watch dog for county finances that he says he is ready to take on. “It’s a huge responsibility that I take very seriously,” Lancman said. The Nassau Interim Finance Authority, otherwise known as NIFA, is a New York State public benefit corporation that oversees the county’s finances. It was implemented in 2000 in response to the county’s financial issues. “Anything that I can do to make sure that doesn’t happen again is something that I take very seriously,” Lancman said. For any financial decision using taxpayer money taken by the county, the Nassau Interim Finance Authority is tasked with approving it. Lancman is a former state assemblyman for the 25th District in Eastern Queens, serving from 2007-2012, and former New York City Council member for Eastern Queens from 2014-2020. In 2020 he worked under former Gov. Andrew Cuomo as special counsel for ratepayer protection.
Lancman, a practicing attorney, also was the executive director for the Commission on the Future of the Long Island Power Authority. He now serves as the Great Neck Library board president. This will be Lancman’s introduction to working for the Nassau Interim Finance Authority. He attributed his appointment by the governor to two factors: his experience in government with a focus on accountability and finances as well as his knowledge of Long Island government. Lancman said his responsibilities will include working alongside Chairman Richard Kessel to conduct oversight of the county’s finances and to help lead the Nassau Interim Finance Authority. The board’s responsibilities include approving the county’s budget, borrowing and contracts. These actions cover county projects and the associated expenses that many people read about in the news, Lancman said, including the Nassau University Medical Center amid financial hardship, legal expenses for the county’s transgender athlete ban and its multiple lawsuits, the suit against Continued on Page 36
PHOTO BY MICHAEL MALASZCZYK
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman signs a bill banning transgender athletes from women’s competition into law. Within hours, he was sued by New York States Attorney General Letitia James for this.
James sues county over transgender athlete law BY M I C H A E L MALASZCZYK State Attorney General Letitia James and the New York Civil Liberties Union sued Nassau County and County Executive Bruce Blakeman Monday in a move to overturn a county law that bans transgender girls and women from participating in women’s sporting events at county-run parks and facilities. James filed her lawsuit immediately after Blakeman signed the
legislation into law at a ceremony attended by county legislators. The law, approved by the county Legislature in a 12-5 vote along party lines, would apply equally to private and public school teams, recreational leagues of all ages, charity events, and even competitive professional and amateur adult teams with their own rules on participation. The law closely mirrored an executive order issued by Blakeman in February. A Republican State Supreme
Court justice ruled Blakeman had exceeded his authority by issuing the order because there was no “corresponding legislative enactment.” Neither Blakeman nor members of the Legislature have provided a single case in which the law would apply. James said the law he had just signed into law conflicts with state laws protecting New Yorkers from discrimination based on their gender identity or expressing it. Continued on Page 37