Serving Williston Park, East Williston, Mineola, Albertson and Searingtown
$1.50
Friday, March 1, 2024
Vol. 73, No. 9
HOME & DESIGN
FAMED DELI GOES MOBILE
COUNTY FREEZES ASSESSMENTS AGAIN
PAGES 23-30
PAGE 3
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Dems blast Blakeman trans ban Question legality of executive order BY C A M E RY N O A K ES
PHOTO BY KAREN RUBIN
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman signed an executive order Thursday that bars transgender girls and women from competing on female sports teams at county facilities.
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman signed an executive order Thursday morning barring transgender girls and women from competing on female sports teams that play at county facilities. “It’s very important to me as county executive that we set a tone and tenor of respect for all people,” Blakeman said. “However, what we are finding out in the last few months is that there is a movement for biological males to bully their way into competing in sports or leagues or teams that identity themselves or advertise themselves as girls or female or women’s teams or
leagues. We find that unacceptable.” Surrounded by young girls holding signs reading “protect women’s sports,” some wearing athletic attire and most elementary school-aged, Blakeman announced and signed his executive order Thursday morning. The county executive said all sports teams using Nassau County facilities have to register under three categories, men’s and boys’, women’s and girls’ and co-ed. Blakeman said that he is not aware of any incidents involving transgender athletes in Nassau County, but that the order is to get the county “ahead of the curve.” Continued on Page 42
Trial begins for ex-Schechter School CFO BY TAY L O R H E R Z L I C H The criminal trial against the West Islip man accused of stealing $8.4 million in school revenue from the Schechter School of Long Island began Monday. David Ostrove, the school’s former chief financial officer, stole $8.4 million from the private Jewish day school to fund a “lavish lifestyle” for himself,
according to the SuffolkCounty Assistant District Attorney in her opening statement. Ostrove, 52, is charged with firstdegree larceny and first-degree moneylaundering. He worked at the Schechter School, located in Williston Park, for more than a decade. He is accused of funneling school funds to his personal bank accounts through digital money
transfer applications PayPal and Stripe over an eight-year span. The disgraced former CFO is charged with spending the stolen money on a host of luxuries, including the purchase of five homes on Fire Island in a four-year period, two Mercedes Benz vehicles, a 1965 Mustang, a 2021 Lincoln Navigator and collectible coins, the Suffolk County DA’s office said. “The Schechter School administration put complete trust in [Ostrove] to conduct financial transactions on behalf of and in the best interest of the Schechter School and its students,” ADA Jessica Lightstone told the jury. “The defendant violated that trust.” Lightstone said Ostrove made
786 transfers from Schechter School business accounts to his personal PayPal and bank accounts from 2014 to 2022. Eventually, PayPal froze the school’s account, said Lightstone. PayPal places limitations on accounts for several reasons, including unusual account activity, non-compliance with regulatory requirements, excessive claims and charge backs and rapid increase in sales volume, according to the PayPal website. Ostrove continued to make transfers from a school Stripe account to a personal bank account, Lightstone said. The Suffolk County DA launched an investigation after being notified by PayPal officials of potential fraud,
said Detective and Investigator George Bean. Bean was the only witness to take the stand Monday. Bean said when he first approached Ostrove in March 2022, Ostrove claimed the Fire Island homes were purchased as “personal investments.” The detective’s investigation connected the purchase of the Fire Island properties with funds from Ostrove’s personal accounts to corporations registered to his home address, the detective said. Lightstone said Ostrove used school funds to make upgrades to the properties, raking in more than $600,000 in rental income between 2018 and 2022. Continued on Page 42