Winners & Losers 9/9/16

Labor Day has come and gone, and that means summer is officially over, your white clothes are being packed away, the kids are back at school and … Kim Kardashian and Kanye West are helping promote Airbnb in New York? Wait, that can’t be right. How about Matt Lauer flubbing a  major interview? Nope, that’s not it either. Well, regardless of the Labor Day rules, real and not-so-real, one thing is always constant – voting for Winners and Losers every week.

WINNERS

Nisha Agarwal – It’s not every day that the Cuomo administration goes to bat for New York City, especially given the governor’s antipathy toward the mayor. So count the immigrant affairs commissioner among the exceptions. Cuomo’s Department of Financial Services superintendent urged New York-chartered banks to accept the city’s municipal ID as a form of verification when people apply to open bank accounts, which could help immigrants in particular – provided that the banks actually comply.

Stephen Cassidy – In a week when everyone will be honoring New York’s firefighters for their service during the terrorist attacks of 9/11, Gov. Andrew Cuomo put pen to paper and signed a bill improving their disability benefits. It’s a long-awaited win for Cassidy’s Uniformed Firefighter’s Association, which has been fighting for this legislation for more than a year – and evidence that pitting the governor and the mayor against each other can have its benefits.

Andrew Lanza – The brunch set has an extra reason to celebrate this week thanks to legislation allowing for the sale of alcohol at 10 a.m. on Sundays that was championed by state Sen. Lanza and just signed into law by Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Starting this Sunday, patrons of establishments throughout the Empire State will be able to begin imbibing two full hours earlier than before. The Legislature couldn’t do much on ethics reform this year, but hey, we can start drinking earlier, so it’s all good.

James Merriman – Despite its battle with Mayor Bill de Blasio, the charter school system is growing in New York City, now serving 10 percent of all city school kids – or a total of 216 charter schools. Apparently all those rallies held in Albany are working in its favor  – and it's all good news for Merriman and his New York City Charter School Center. Heck, even rap artist Sean “Diddy” Combs is helping to open charter schools these days.

Troy Waffner – The acting director of the Great New York State Fair must be tickled with the record-breaking attendance this year. With more than 1.1 million visitors, the fair has attracted its largest crowd ever.  The state has made substantial investments in recent years, which surely contributed to the growing success. We hope Waffner’s celebrating with a bunch of fried Oreos and turkey legs.

LOSERS

Bill de Blasio – “The safest J’ouvert in history” was promised, but violence marred the all-night street party before Brooklyn’s West Indian Day Parade once again, with two killed and others wounded. The killings cast a shadow over the next day’s announcement of the safest summer in at least 22 years, and the mayor’s comparison of J’ouvert violence to the St. Patrick’s Day Parade and the Puerto Rican Day will undoubtedly earn him some boos in March and June.

David Dinkins – The former New York City mayor landed in the city’s tabloids this week after a bicycle deliveryman claimed Dinkins struck him with his car and simply drove off. Dinkins denied it was a hit-and-run, saying he had to get his wife to the hospital before he returned to the scene. He also said he hadn’t been aware of the collision, but also told police that the cyclist had hit him. Whether it’s all true or a lot of spin, it’s not the kind of news cycle a politician wants.

Celia Dosamantes – The point of a public campaign finance is to give everyone who wants to run the resources they need to mount a legitimate campaign. It’s not meant for alleged fraudsters like Dosamantes, who was arrested for faking donations to get 6-for-1 matching taxpayer funds during her campaign for a New York City Council seat in 2015. The 25-year-old political upstart, who had worked for numerous city politicians and could have had a bright future in local politics, instead could be looking at a jail cell.

Eric Schneiderman – A lengthy report by Scripps News in Cleveland found that Hillary Clinton’s two charities have routinely ignored state rules requiring them to disclose donors. Schneiderman’s attorney general office considers Clinton’s charities to be “in step” with rules – despite experts saying they’re not and a review of other nonprofits showing this “in step” designation is an anomaly. Perhaps the classification has something to do with the AG’s place on the Clinton campaign’s New York leadership council?

Howard Zucker – During the current political climate, it takes a lot for Republicans and Democrats to find something to agree upon, but state Department of Health Commissioner Howard Zucker did just that. Lawmakers grilled Zucker during another hearing about the state’s response to the Hoosick Falls water contamination scandal – and they were not at all happy with hisinsistence that the blame lies totally with the EPA.