Winners and Losers 11/26/14
After the snowpocalypse in Buffalo, New York enjoyed some much-needed temperate weather this week. Of course, temperatures were not just rising in the air, they were also rising in the streets, as New Yorkers reacted to the decision in Ferguson. To make sure you still have room for Winners and Losers before you stuff yourself tomorrow, we've moved up our picks from Friday and slimmed back our list to three and three. The following are our selections for who deserves extra stuffing this Thanksgiving and who are the turkeys.
WINNERS
Bill de Blasio – The Barclays Center just keeps on winning in Brooklyn, and New York Mayor Bill de Blasio gave it another laurel by making it one of three finalists to host the 2016 Democratic National Convention. Sure, Philadelphia is still the city most likely to host the Dems, especially now that the Republicans will host their convention in Cleveland, diminishing Columbus's chances as a competitive bidder. But Brooklyn and the city’s funkiest mayor in decades have impressed the nation with a new brand of hospitality. Bonus points for de Blasio: He even allowed the press to attend the announcement.
Hector Figueroa – The president of 32BJ SEIU notched a win this week when the city’s 5,000 school cleaners and handymen secured an 18 percent raise—plus a $1,000 bonus—according to an agreement reached with New York City officials. When they go out to celebrate, drinks are on these guys.
Al Roker – When Gov. Andrew Cuomo publicly accused the National Weather Service of failing to report the intensity of the storm that hit Western New York last week, the NBC weatherman took to Twitter to give Cuomo a lesson in meteorology—and media relations. “One hopes that @NYGovCuomo just forgot to tell him,” Roker tweeted, “Or maybe they were playing #cya but @NWSBUFFALO did their jobs.” Roker was joined by a host of other weather experts who chided the governor for his criticism, and eventually Cuomo had to walk back his comments.
LOSERS
Cory Booker – Not being able to keep good people on a team usually is an indication of problems with the leadership. Just ask Anthony Weiner's former staffers. Nothing too problematic has emerged yet about the reasons over the years behind the mass exodus from first Newark mayor and now U.S. Senator Booker's office, but where there's smoke, there tends to be fire.
Julie Dent – In yet another stunning display of nepotism at the New York City Board of Elections, the former BOE commissioner was hit with a $5,500 fine for allegedly helping her sister secure a job at the agency. It would only be fair, then, if Dent’s sister covers the fine for Dent helping her get the $43,000-a-year job.
Rudy Giuliani – As racial tensions rose across the country before the grand jury decision in Ferguson, Missouri, as to whether to charge a white policeman who killed an unarmed black teen, some officials urged people to remain calm. Others called for non-violent protest. And then there was the former mayor of New York City, who asserted that white police officers wouldn’t have been on the scene in the first place if black people weren’t killing each other. Misleading or not, his comments didn't exactly spur much civil debate, they forced Giuliani onto the defensive, and reminded New Yorkers how sensitive America's Mayor was to racial issues when he was in office.