Winners & Losers 6/3/16

It’s finals time! The NBA’s tipped off and the NHL’s dropped the puck … with no representation from the local teams. There’s strong New York representation in the final presidential primaries though, as a Westchester resident tries to defeat a Brooklynite once and for all while a Queens-born Manhattanite rests in his tower. Can’t get enough competition? Read on for this week’s Winners & Losers.

WINNERS

George Maziarz – In keeping with the natural order of the Capitol, the once powerful former state Sen. George Maziarz, who pulled out of his 2014 re-election bid amidst controversy surrounding an investigation into his campaign finance account, has landed at what was until recently one of the most powerful lobbying outfits in Albany. Maziarz is now the president of Western New York operations at Patricia Lynch & Associates, a firm that has, fittingly, suffered its own fall from grace after a recent scandal. The ex-senator is barred from lobbying any former colleagues until January, but we doubt that will stop him from having a few polite conversations with his old chums before the new year.

Joseph Ponte – The New York City correction commissioner doesn’t usually make our winners list – in fact, when he shows up here at all, he’s usually among the losers. But this week federal monitors announced that Rikers Island has made significant progress toward establishing “enduring reform.” Hopefully the good news keeps coming.

Ed Riley – The hotelier is nearing completion on a project that has stymied other real estate pros for more than a decade: restoring the downtown Syracuse gem that is the Hotel Syracuse. Closed in 2004, developers for years had put forward various plans for the restoration of the near-century old building, but nothing stuck. As a cherry on top, Cuomo himself stopped by to help celebrate the the reopening.

Eric Schneiderman – The state attorney general is on a roll. A new Siena College poll found voters trust Schneiderman to root out corruption even more than U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, who’s been dubbed the “Sheriff of Albany.” On top of that, Schneiderman has gained national attention for his lawsuit against Trump University and presidential candidate Donald Trump. Clearly he didn’t earn his law degree at Trump’s “university.”

Christopher Shelton & Lonnie Stephenson – It’s not every day that a union actually goes on strike, and even less often do they get very much of what they ask for. Shelton’s Communications Workers of America and Stephenson’s International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers didn’t get everything they wanted, but they got some substantive concessions as they resolved a labor standoff with Verizon. Now that’s something to call home about!

LOSERS

Bill Bratton – The NYCLU filed a human rights complaint contending the NYPD is violating the rights of homeless people. The much-praised decrease in marijuana possession arrests has been reversed, with reformers pointing out that blacks and Latinos are still arrested in such situations far more than white New Yorkers. Darryl “DMC” McDaniels and others called out Bratton for describing hip-hop artists as “basically thugs.” And all the while, the commission’s deputies are dropping like flies. But to be fair, homicides and shootings continue to drop.  

Carl Heastie – Is anyone tired yet of lawmakers being investigated by U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara for corruption? The Daily News this weekreported that Assemblyman Michael Benedetto was subpoenaed by Bharara’s office, which is seeking information on all reimbursements made to Heastie by the Bronx Democratic Committee. Apparently while Bharara is in office, becoming a legislative leader means putting a target on your back.

Joseph Mascia – A resident commissioner on the Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority with a penchant for sticking his thumb in the eye of Mayor Byron Brown and his allies, Mascia has been removed from his post following an investigation into an audio recording of him calling Brown, BMHA Executive Director Dawn Sanders-Garrett and other African American  community leaders the N-word. Mascia, who often fought for tenants’ rights in his time on the board, has vowed to fight his removal and a ruling that he is barred from running for the office again this fall. But, at least for now, Mascia will play no official role in the governance of public housing in Buffalo.

Eva Moskowitz – Moskowitz was not successful in enlisting the state to come to her defense against de Blasio’s insistence that her charter school network sign contracts with the city before offering pre-K. It doesn’t look like the court will finish reviewing the matter for months, which means Moskowitz won’t be offering pre-K in fall 2017. The outcome of this standoff makes it clear that while she’s happy to set strict rules, it’s harder for her to follow them.

Howard Zucker – Cuomo’s health commish may be the leader on health policy in New York state, but when the EPA shows up at your door telling you that water in Hoosick Falls is at dangerous levels of contamination from a chemical linked to cancer, you should probably listen and definitely not punt the decision-making to the local mayor. Recently released emails detailed the DOH’s delays in addressing the problem and only continue to put the blame for the Hoosick Falls disaster squarely in Zucker’ s– and Cuomo’s – laps.