Winners & Losers 2/26/16

In a week where the sometimes toxic nature of politics was on full display, so too were New Yorkers reminded of the industrial legacy of our state: politicians and other leaders discussed poisoned wells in Hoosick Falls and industrial waste dumps and lead poisoning from paint in Western New York. But hey, it’s not all bad news. Bill de Blasio not only avoided our losers list this week, he’s one of our winners. Congrats!

WINNERS

Eric Adams – Beeps get a lot of flak for not having power. But Brooklyn’s Adams may have found a way to effect change, offering $1 million from his budget to the college that offers the best proposal for a gun with a trigger that can only be pulled by its authorized user. That's just one of the reasons why a borough president with City Hall ambitions is the 44th most powerful person in New York City.

Mary Bassett – During the Bloomberg years New York City pushed the limits on public health, targeting everything from cigarettes to super-sized sodas. The de Blasio administration is continuing the campaign by making restaurant chains post warnings on high-sodium menu items. Bassett, the city’s health commissioner, says the move could serve as a national model – and a court ruling this week upholding the measure paves the way for that possibility.  

Bill de Blasio – Somebody’s having a good 2016 so far. Since September the mayor’s approval rating is up 14 points, to 58 percent overall. He’s also having his first meetings with donors for his re-election campaign, which is looking brighter with Rev. Al Sharpton publicly discouraging Rep. Hakeem Jeffries from running in 2017.  Plus, Steven Bank’s response on the homelessness issue is deflecting criticism back at the governor, and the new Compstat 2.0 was well received across the board.

Tom DiNapoli – The state comptroller had a busy week. He released an audit exposing the state Department of Health’s failure to properly issue fines and safety violations in the state’s nursing homes. He put out a tough report on the governor’s proposed budget.  Then, he issued an additional report that looked at the fiscal stress of the state’s villages. It’s always great to get the job done – and it doesn’t hurt to score political points while you’re doing it.

Rafael Salamanca – Salamanca beat out five candidates in a special election for the New York City Council seat vacated by Maria del Carmen Arroyo. Of course, it didn’t hurt that the relatively new Bronx Democratic Party Chairman Marcos Crespo appeared to be working overtime to line up endorsements for Salamanca and ensure one of the first elections Crespo oversaw did not end in a loss. As a result, Salamanca will be leaving his district manager’s office for City Hall.

LOSERS

Pierre-André de Chalendar and Dave Cote – Plenty of blame has been thrown around for the water contamination in Hoosick Falls, but this week these CEOs of Saint-Gobain Group and Honeywell, respectively, faced a class-action lawsuit alleging the two companies are responsible for the PFOA contamination in the village’s water supply. A long, expensive legal battle is sure to follow, but don’t worry – Erin Brockovich is on the case! Maybe they’ll make another movie.

Margaret Chin – The Manhattan councilwoman’s expenses are looking about as transparent as a paper bag. Chin didn’t just divert $10,000 in taxpayer funds to a lobbyist to push for legislation to implement a plastic bag fee – she didn’t bother reporting the expenditure either. Both actions could land her in hot water, but the best defense her office could come up with was trying to shift blame to people with an “anti-environmental” agenda.

David Greenfield – Whatever happened at a New York City Council leadership meeting on Tuesday, Greenfield did not emerge unscathed. As City & State first reported, Greenfield lost his leadership role and his place on the budget negotiating team, although he did have the positions promptly restored. As much as Greenfield may want to make his voice heard on horse carriages and pay raises, he may want to watch it when it comes to crossing Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito again.

Letitia James - Tish James has turned to the courts to protect New Yorkers, both in her current role as New York City public advocate and in previous roles as an attorney and as an assistant attorney general. Since taking office two years ago, James has filed lawsuits nearly a dozen times on behalf of tenants, schoolchildren and others. Just one problem. A review from her own office has found that she may have overstepped her authority on some cases, as the city charter does not explicitly grant her office the ability to sue the city. Case closed!

Cy Vance – In the case of a man on trial for the death of a toddler back in 1991, the Manhattan D.A.’s office is insisting that a New York Times reporter comply with a subpoena seeking testimony about a pivotal interview with the defendant. But the reporter’s attorney argues the move violates the state’s shield law protecting journalists – and this from a D.A. with a reputation for being far from transparent.