Winners & Losers 1/22/16

If the old adage “a good compromise leaves everyone dissatisfied” is true, then Mayor Bill de Blasio did a heckuva job with his horse carriage deal. It seemed that nearly everyone involved held some kind of rally or protest to let Hizzoner know just what they thought of his proposal. Lucky for him it wasn’t all bad news, as de Blasio’s poll ratings nudged up for the first time in a while, making him one of a number of politicians, including the man he’s been feuding with, to have an up-and-down week.

WINNERS

Janet DiFiore – The Westchester County district attorney was praised by Democrats and Republicans alike this week before finally being confirmed as the new chief judge of the state Court of Appeals. Not only can the state’s top court begin once again to fully function, but DiFiore also was told she’s prettier in person than her picture. So, there’s that.

Harold Ickes – De Blasio’s time in City Hall has been very good for the former Clinton White House staffer. The Post revealed that the mayor’s “mentor” raked in more than $850,000 in lobbying fees the past two years. Quite an upgrade from the $61,000 he made in the 12-year Bloomberg administration. And Ickes is investing his new money wisely – some think a recent $13,000 donation to the mayor’s re-election campaign was tied to the approval of a new Randall’s Island music festival hosted by one of his clients.

Josh Mohrer – After all that fighting last summer and the possibility of a cap on Uber’s fleet of for-hire cars, the yellow-taxi competitor is breathing a sigh of relief now that a long-awaited traffic study found that the company and other car-hailing services haven’t significantly increased congestion on Manhattan’s streets. Mohrer, Uber’s top New York City executive, is once again cruising ahead of the cab industry and its supporter, Mayor Bill de Blasio.

Steve Nislick – Horse carriage drivers could lose their jobs. Animal rights activists want more. Pedicab operators are angry over proposed restrictions. Parks advocates don’t want a stable in Central Park, and taxpayers will have to foot the bill. With de Blasio under fire for the horse carriage deal and the City Council wearily going along with it, perhaps the biggest winner is Nislick, the campaign donor with ties to a real estate firm long rumored to covet the land where the horses are kept  – for now.

Risa Weinstock – The Times headline says it all: “Deaths Down and Adoptions Up.” That’s great news for the executive director of Animal Care Centers of NYC, the nonprofit running the city’s shelters. With the agency’s budget nearly doubling over the past nine years to $13 million, the euthanasia rates for dogs dropped 36 percent in 2015 … though it’s still not enough to quiet all her critics.

LOSERS

Matt Driscoll – During the governor’s State of the State address, he said the lofty, expensive infrastructure projects he announced would “make Gov. Rockefeller jealous.” That may be true, but lawmakers and experts are scratching their heads trying to figure out how the state will fund a slate of projects expected to cost tens of billions of dollars. As the state transportation commissioner, it fell on Driscoll to try to explain how the state would pay for these projects during a budget hearing this week. He was not very successful.

Carmen Fariña – The Post broke the news that a family friend and former student of the city schools chancellor has risen through the ranks under Fariña’s watch despite sometimes lacking the appropriate certifications. Sure, most of the allegations are a decade old, but defending yourself from a scathing editorial is about as fun as doing homework on a Saturday night.

Gary LaBarbera and John Banks – Both sides has something to win in the government’s unusual outsourcing of a policy matter to the private sector, with LaBarbera’s Building and Construction Trades Council in line to secure prevailing wages for its members and Banks’ Real Estate Board of New York poised to extend a lucrative tax break for the industry it represents. Any eventual renewal of the controversial 421-a program could ultimately benefit one side more than the other, but for now, it’s a failed compromise that pleases nobody.  

Eva Moskowitz – The leader of New York City’s largest charter school network got hit with a triple whammy this week. Success Academy is not only facing a lawsuit accusing its staffers of discriminating against students with disabilities and a SUNY investigation into concerns that struggling students may have been forced out, but one of her biggest supporters in New York government, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, appears to be waning on his support for charters. It might be time for the education leader to hit the books again.

Stefan Mychajliw – It’s never a good week when an ethics panel is referring a matter you’re involved in to the local district attorney, and that’s the position in which the Erie county comptroller finds himself after soliciting donations from businessmen who have business before the county to pay for leadership training at Harvard University. It’s even worse when your hometown daily rakes you over the coals, as The Buffalo News did, pointing out that as a former reporter Mychajliw should have known that the donations would raise red flags. It remains to be seen whether the D.A. will prosecute, but either way it’s ample fodder for any challengers in the next election.