Winners & Losers 3/25/16

 You’ll have to wait at least until next week to find out who wins and loses in the state budget. A deal is looking more likely – but it’s Albany, where nothing’s done until it’s done, so don't bank on that higher wage just yet. Until then, enjoy this week’s Winners & Losers!

WINNERS

Bill de Blasio – Hizzoner took it to the house. The mayor’s team maneuvered two zoning proposals that are paramount to his affordable housing agenda through the City Council after months of negotiating measures that were pilloried by community boards and housing activists. De Blasio also saw his progressive brand publicized during a spirited back-and-forth with Ted Cruz. And, in case his union-heavy rally wasn’t sufficient, the mayor is off to celebrate Easter weekend in Florida.

Joe Griffo and Joe Morelle – The Joes have it! In a sport known for short fights, the battle to legalize mixed martial arts in New York has taken a grueling seven years. But with longtime heavyweight champion - er, Assembly Speaker Shelly Silver gone, the Assembly finally followed the Senate in approval. Senate sponsor Griffo celebrated with a flurry of MMA retweets. Meanwhile, Assembly sponsor Morelle may have got a little too caught up in the masculine showmanship aspect of MMA, disparagingly calling Assemblywoman Angela Wozniak “young lady” in the floor debate. Still, a win's a win. Next stop: The Octagon.

Betty Rosa – The Bronx sure has to be proud of Rosa, who worked her way up through the borough’s education system and is now the head policy maker of education for the Empire State. And she’s wasting no time in making her name known, having already taken a bold stand supporting the opt-out movement and criticizing the Common Core. It’s definitely the start of a new era in New York education.

Eric Schneiderman – It may not matter in the long run, but Schneiderman did get the three largest daily fantasy companies – DraftKings, FanDuel and Yahoo – to suspend betting in New York until their legal battle with the AG is finished. But the suspension also gives time for the state Legislature to pass a legalization agreement, which could end up making Schneiderman look like a leader for helping spur legislative action, or a fool for suspending businesses in the state that many people support. Only time will tell if he made a winning bet.

Julissa Ferreras-Copeland – Not only is the powerful chairwoman of the New York City Council Finance Committee getting plenty of buzz in her common sense campaign to increase access to tampons. There’s also a report from our partners at Slant that she’s the mayor’s preferred choice to be the next Council speaker – and history has shown that’s not a bad endorsement to have.

 

 

LOSERS

Lisette Camilo – It’s unclear exactly who at the New York City Department of Citywide Administrative Services approved the lifting of deed restrictions on Lower East Side property. But the commissioner now has to deal with the city comptroller examining the move, which led to a nursing home operator making a tidy $72 million by selling the property in question to a luxury housing developer. Oh, and now all similar deed applications are frozen while Camilo conduct a top-down review of the agency.

Robert Moses – Donald Trump isn’t the only name that officials want removed from state property. It looks like Moses, the controversial municipal planner, will be have his name removed from the parkway along the Niagara River, with Cuomo backing a state Senate measure to change the name to focus on the region’s tourism. For someone who was known for dividing or destroying communities with his sweeping projects, it must come as sweet revenge to his detractors see his name removed from one such sort of infrastructure expenditure.

Rob Speyer and Stephen Ross – Many people have fantasies of punching a big time Manhattan real estate developer in the face, but who would’ve thought they’d want to do it to each other? Rumor has it the 46-year-old president of Tishman Speyer and the 75-year-old Related chairman had to be physically separated from each other after nearly coming to blows at a REBNY meeting. We here at City & State love a good 421-a debate, but this is just too much.

Chuck Tobin – The president and CEO of Focused Technologies seems to keep a low profile, but he’ll be under closer scrutiny with an independent monitor watching his company for the next five years. His business will also pay $3.1 million in penalties after authorities determined Focused Technologies outsourced to India part of a state contract meant to be done primarily by people with disabilities. In doing so, authorities said the company risked the privacy of some 16 million people whose fingerprint records and personal information the company was tasked with digitizing. Not exactly what we'd call "focused." 

Michael Violante – Disappointing peaceful Violantes everywhere, the Niagara County D.A. is stepping down after repeated reports that he violated common decency by sexually harassing female co-workers. Allegedly, he then retaliated by moving an accuser to a lower position and passing her over for promotions. What is it with Western New York?

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