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

Better late than never, eh? After a damning report earlier this year that found that members of the NYPD’s Special Victims Division failed to take rape by acquaintances seriously, the New York City Council passed legislation requiring cops to undergo sex assault sensitivity training. The measure, sponsored by Councilwoman Laurie Cumbo, is part of a larger package of bills meant to ensure that victims are getting the support they need when reporting assaults to the police. While it’s a shame that such legislation is even necessary, it’s a step in the right direction for people all over the city.

He’s just a really good dude. A nice guy. The kind of person you would want to bring home to the parents. Gubernatorial candidate Marc Molinaro showed off his sweet side this week when he broke away from staffers and reporters to help a semi-conscious man he saw lying in the street. And when the ambulance arrived, he put his volunteer firefighter skills to work directing traffic. A New York Times profile published this week also captured Molinaro’s amiable nature. It’s just too darn bad none of it will help him win.

If there was any doubt that progressive rockstar Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was going to win a seat in Congress, it evaporated in the final week of the campaign. Incumbent Rep. Joe Crowley – who lost to Ocasio-Cortez in the primary – told supporters to “knock it off” after flyers urged locals to vote for him on a third-party line. Her path to victory widened even more following revelations that her GOP opponent, Anthony Pappas, was not receiving support from his party because of a past domestic violence allegation and restraining order. He also can’t spend any of the money he donated to his own campaign because he owes $1 million to his ex-wife. Sorry, haters – there’s no stopping this train.

Fans of democracy, rejoice! New York has nearly 900 new voters, thanks to a Legal Aid Society registration drive at Rikers Island and other city jails. While the ultimate winners will be whomever the newly registered vote for, today the victory goes to Anthony Posada, the organization’s Community Justice Unit supervising attorney, who led the drive. Now that he’s activated incarcerated people and jail visitors, maybe Posada can turn his attention to young people.

You can’t win if you don’t sue. And these four New Yorkers – either gambling addicts or relatives of addicts – got lucky in their bid to once again ban daily fantasy sports from the state. A state supreme court judge ruled that, despite a law enacted in 2016, games like FanDuel and DraftKings are games of chance, not skill, and therefore illegal. But the state, backed by moneyed interests, is almost guaranteed to double down and appeal the decision, so the four plaintiffs can’t fold ’em yet.

If there’s ever an opportunity to put his foot in his mouth, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio finds a way. At a memorial service commemorating last year’s Halloween terror attack, Hizzoner spoke about everyone – the first responders, the politicians, even the brave revelers who still decided to march in the annual Village Halloween parade – but failed to name the eight people who died. He has since apologized, offering his usual excuse: good intentions, poorly handled.

Richard Carranza inherited a host of problems when he took over as New York City schools chancellor in April – but one issue suddenly jumped to the top of the heap. For the first time during de Blasio’s administration, suspensions were up last year, by 4 percent. To make matters worse, a new report by the Independent Budget Office revealed that black students in public schools are being suspended longer than other students for the same offenses. Facing calls for swift action from multiple elected officials, Carranza has his homework cut out for him this semester.

These Democratic state Senate candidates on Long Island – where the fight for control of the Legislature will undoubtedly go down – both had some unflattering history dredged up. A police report from ’97 shows that an ex-girlfriend of Lou D'Amaro’s said he threatened her with bodily harm. And in ’07, Jim Gaughran was accused of attacking a bill collector and chasing him off his property. Both candidates point out that they were never charged with a crime. But if you want to stop the Democrats from taking over Albany, this is how it’s done.  

The high-ranking Catholic auxiliary bishop who stepped down amid an unfolding sexual abuse scandal asked his parishioners to pray for him – and for the man who accused him of “inappropriate behavior” in the 1980s. But Michael Meenan, who says he came to trust Jenik through confession at Our Lady of Refuge in the Bronx and alleges the bishop sexually abused him as a teenager, said “there must be a price to pay for this.”

When folks complain that Washington lawmakers swindle taxpayers out of their hard-earned cash, they usually don’t mean it literally. The Intercept reported that the debt collection agency that Rep. Tom Reed started has been harassing his own constituents for money they don’t actually owe. Sure, Reed pointed out that he sold his stake in the company a few years ago, but don’t worry! His wife still co-owns it, and the power couple pulls in $100K a year from the business. Good thing he’s not depending on those same constituents for re-election any time soon. Oh, wait ...