Who's up and who's down this week?

It’s a good time to be challenging the former members of the Independent Democratic Conference. SEIU 32BJ endorsed Alessandra Biaggi. Several members of the Assembly announced their support for Zellnor Myrie and Jessica Ramos. Ramos also got the endorsement of Cynthia Nixon, burnishing her credentials with progressives. The IDC challengers are gaining momentum, because – as New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson put it – establishment officials are emboldened to “tell the truth” about their distaste for the IDC.

The Daily News City Hall bureau chief, one of the city’s top reporters, got an exclusive on a $48,000 property tax break President Donald Trump was set to get for his Trump Tower condo, which the city then canceled. As Poynter put it, “Jillian Jorgensen made a difference this week” – a difference that personally affected the president of the United States. Here’s to Jorgensen, and may she continue to be blessed with many difference-making scoops in the future.

Sometimes you want ice cream. Sometimes you want a beer. Sometimes you want both – and if you can’t decide, the state Legislature is here with a solution: beer ice cream. This week the governor signed a bipartisan bill sponsored by Assemblyman Magee and State Sen. Seward legalizing ice cream infused with beer or cider, as long as it’s less than 5 percent alcohol and only sold to those over the age of 21. Plus, it resolves a glaring inconsistency on the books: Wine ice cream HAS been legal since 2008.

In a move that adds an insult to the stomach-churning nature of allegations against him, former Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has begun to collect his $63,948-a-year pension. Schneiderman filed for retirement at the beginning of June so he could receive his first payment before the end of the month. Of course, he is still facing a criminal investigation after several women accused him of physical abuse.

The Vision Zero program headed by New York City Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg has yet to hit its goal of zero traffic deaths, but it seems to be making progress. The first half of 2018 saw only 81 such deaths in the city, the fewest ever over a six-month period. Trottenberg has plenty of reason to be proud, but don't get too excited. She attributed the success to the speed cameras placed in school zones, a program that's set to expire in a couple weeks unless the state's wishy-washy Senate takes action.

What a week for Hizzoner. It started with NYCHA and went downhill from there. De Blasio admitted that the way more NYCHA apartments may have lead contamination than he originally said. And to make things worse, he said he knew about the lead paint issue for years, but he is just so darn busy, and “some new ideas” take “a while to develop.” Plus, de Blasio got flak for using an NYPD counterterrorism plane to fly back to the city during his vacation last week. Not to mention that he FINALLY had a meeting with the man tasked with fixing the subways. It only took six months and a public shaming from The New Yorker. Oh yeah, and de Blasio also may have illegally crossed the U.S.-Mexico border too.

Democratic congressional candidate Tedra Cobb isn't gunning for a ban on assault rifles, but that doesn't mean she doesn't want to. Cobb was caught on tape saying she chose not to publicly support banning the guns even though she said she privately does support it. Not a particularly flattering look for a candidate who just pledged to not lie to voters. She pinned the decision to fears it would hurt her chances of winning. Not that those odds are looking good for Cobb anyway, as NRA-sympathetic Rep. Elise Stefanik's seat is looking safe.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s close ally used to act like a teenage boy, posting sexist memes on Facebook and driving around town in his Ferrari with a stuffed animal riding shotgun. The former SUNY Poly president also had a teenage boy’s affinity for rule-breaking, confirmed by the jurors who found him guilty Thursday in a bid-rigging scheme that drove hundreds of millions of contract dollars to favored companies.

Nothing spices up a congressional race like some petit larceny and the use of GPS trackers to surveil constituents. Retired pastor and activist Gary McCaslin was arrested for allegedly stealing a campaign sign erected by Rep. Tom Reed after a Looney Tunes-worthy series of events, including Reed’s campaign putting GPS trackers in the signs to catch the weasely “Extreme Ithaca Liberal” who had been taking them down. McCaslin’s attorney Christina Bruner Sonsire stated "there is no evidence of wrongdoing,” claiming that McCaslin was merely throwing away signs that were on public property after the primary.

Who polices the State Police? As you might expect, it’s the State Police. That fact was highlighted in a Times Union story that centered on Francis Stabile III, a State Police senior investigator who crashed his car and then seems to have tried to cover it up. The incident set off an internal investigation, but we may never know whether he did anything wrong – or if he or anyone else got punished – although he was at least reassigned.