This week’s biggest Winners & Losers

New York City’s Right of Way law, which ensures that drivers face criminal penalties when they severely injure or kill pedestrians or cyclists who have the right of way, was upheld as constitutional by an appeals court in Manhattan. Though the law has faced a number of challenges, New York City Transportation Department Commissioner Polly Trottenberg can now relax and enjoy the taste of victory knowing that this law is secure.

After getting Bern’d by New York’s election law in 2016, Bernie Sanders can finally take a breath. Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a bill letting the presidential candidate’s unaffiliated fans take more time to register as Democrats. The signing comes a week after Team Bernie told on New York to the DNC, begging the guv to hurry up and sign the darn thing. The new deadline for voters to switch parties is Feb. 14 – how lovely.

Earlier this year, the state banned 3D-printed plastic “ghost guns” that could potentially evade metal detectors. But New York City Councilwoman Helen Rosenthal took it a step further. The City Council passed Rosenthal’s legislation making it a misdemeanor to own another type of “ghost gun” – metal gun kits that are assembled by customers at home – that lack tracking serial numbers. If thinking two steps ahead is what it takes to reduce gun violence, then Rosenthal appears to be on the right track.

Schools out for winter! Or at least, one extra day of it. Generally, school is in session the day before Christmas Eve. But Christmas is on a Wednesday this year, which meant that students and teachers were originally scheduled to have a one-day week, forced to go to school on Monday before getting the sweet relief of winter break. After some lobbying by Michael Mulgrew’s members, the New York City Department of Education decided to cut the day from the calendar, thus starting vacation early. Merry Christmas everyone!

Despite the Seneca Nation of Indians’ refusal to let the state fix the dilapidated Interstate 90 highway that runs through the Cattaraugus Reservation for five years, it has finally given New York the greenlight to begin repairs. A big boon for state Thruway Authority Executive Director Matthew Driscoll, who announced that the much-needed repairs will begin this week.

Trump’s lawyer, the former New York City mayor, might have opened his loud mouth a little too far when he copped, last week, to pressuring Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to dig for political dirt on former Vice President Joe Biden. Since then, more and more details have been unearthed about Giuliani and Trump’s Ukranian plot, prompting a formal impeachment inquiry. Sad!

After dropping out of the presidential race, Hizzoner decided to also throw in the towel on his controversial proposal to scrap the Specialized High School Admissions Test. Some critics called him a “wimp” for giving up his fight against the test, while others will stay mad that he ever threatened their kids’ shot at Stuyvesant to begin with.

The Manhattan borough president looked like a protector of the landed gentry for requesting a study from the New York City Independent Budget Office on the impact of homeless shelters on adjacent property values. Then the report was both slammed as “morally indefensible” by City Hall and academically dunked on by the NYU Furman Center.

WeWork was once the pride of New York City’s startup scene – and Adam Neumann, its eccentric co-founder and CEO, was riding high. Oh, how quickly the pingpong table work desks have turned. Neumann’s attempt to take the company public ended in scrutiny of his alleged self-dealing, a collapsed valuation and his resignation. Instead of creating New York’s first $10 billion startup, his legacy is convincing people to pay huge rents for an office with beer on tap.

Getting an A+ is usually a good thing, but not when it comes to municipal bond ratings. AAA is the gold standard that eludes the city of Buffalo, whose credit rating was downgraded by Fitch Ratings from AA–, much to the dismay of Mayor Byron Brown, who thinks his town is being graded on an unfair curve. He said Fitch didn’t have a good understanding of the city’s new revenue streams – like charging more for parking. Sure sounds complicated!