This week’s biggest Winners & Losers

The best heroes are the ones who never sought the title in the first place. Shams DaBaron fits the bill. DaBaron has become an accidental advocate and leader in the fight of some 240 homeless men trying to stay at the Lucerne hotel on the Upper West Side. One of the residents, DaBaron has become something of a local celebrity, speaking on behalf of other residents simply trying to stay put. And thanks to DaBaron’s lawsuit, the fight just notched a victory as a judge ruled the residents don’t need to move for now.

Trying to boost census participation in New York City hasn't been easy. But even so, city Census Director Julie Menin has made big strides. Nearly 62% of New Yorkers filled out their census forms this year, beating out the Census Bureau's own projections for New York City's response rate predating the COVID-19 pandemic. And despite having seen one of the worst outbreaks of COVID-19 in the country, the city managed to outpace other major cities like Los Angeles and Chicago. That boost in the census should translate to more resources for the city and state in the future – which New York certainly could use during these trying times. 

Long gone are the days when politicians regularly bad-mouthed the influence of video games on America's youth. The latest generation of elected officials is instead playing those games with the public – and earning a lot of love for it. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez recently hopped on to the streaming platform Twitch and broadcast herself playing the viral video game “Among Us” with some prominent internet personalities, while encouraging viewers to get out the vote. And the effort certainly gained attention. Around 435,000 viewers watched the livestream at its peak, making it one of Twitch's most-watched events ever. 

The president’s attorney and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani somehow still managed to surprise everyone this week, when it was revealed that he has a cameo in “Borat 2.” More concerning, however, was the content of that supporting role, in which Giuliani appears to be pleasuring himself in front of a woman posing as a reporter. Giuliani has since denied that he was doing anything inappropriate, and said that he was merely removing his microphone and not, you know, Toobin’.

All aboard … is what NYC Ferry was NOT telling some unfortunate Greenpoint commuters. As they waited for their ride to work, the landlubbers were shocked to see the ferry pass them by as the captain shouted that he couldn’t dock to pick them up. The private pier owner had barred the city from using it, to the surprise of the Brooklynites. The ferry service, Mayor Bill de Blasio’s pet project managed by the city’s Economic Development Corporation under James Patchett, has long been plagued with issues and controversy, but it at least got some people where they needed to go. Now it can’t even claim that.

If you traveled to New York from one of the dozens of states under the 14-day mandatory quarantine travel order but you didn’t comply with the mandatory quarantine, chances are you suffered absolutely no consequences – unless of course your name is Mark Anthony Perez. Perez, who traveled to Manhattan from Florida earlier this fall, is reportedly the one and only person to be busted for violating the quarantine, and faces a maximum fine of $1,500. Such is the fate that befalls a Florida Man in New York City.

Correction: Shams DaBaron filed the lawsuit that allowed the 240 residents to stay at the Lucerne.