This week’s biggest Winners & Losers

There is just something about the former New York City health commissioner that left-leaning legislators and medical professionals can’t help but love. Progressive cred and progressive bonafides are the source of much praise for her nomination as state health commissioner. She also has an established track record of handling disease outbreaks without withholding nursing home data from elected officials and the general public. That was just too darn hard for her scandal-plagued predecessor despite all his fancy degrees,

Anyone will tell you – sometimes the voting public get it wrong. So even though Cordell Cleare got 4th place in her third unsuccessful run for New York City Council and Yudelka Tapia got 2nd place in her second unsuccessful run for office, the pair will almost certainly be heading to Albany in January anyway. Cleare as the county committee’s choice to replace former state Sen. Brian Benjamin in Harlem, and Tapia as the insiders’ pick to fill retired Assembly Member Victor Pichardo’s seat in the west Bronx.

Few would disagree that Meisha Ross Porter took on a difficult job when she became New York City Schools Chancellor earlier this year. But between the rise of the delta variant and the task of implementing a controversial COVID-19 vaccine mandate, Porter has had a particularly bumpy road to travel in starting her first new school year. That’s why the official go ahead from a federal appeals panel to enforce the vaccine mandate this week is a win for Porter. Sure, she’ll still be the one to catch flak from disgruntled staff, but at least vaccinations are rising.

Would you eat a chicken nugget with metal in it for $67,000? Yeah, probably. Would you serve the nuggets to kids for that price? Absolutely not. And that’s where New York City Department of Education executive Eric Goldstein went wrong, according to federal prosecutors who say he pocketed the bribe to get the tainted nugs back on the menu. That crossed a line, even in this city of street meat, dollar slices and dirty water dogs. 

If you’re in law enforcement and lose the support of your union, you know you’re toast. Ontario County Sheriff Kevin Henderson resigned over allegations he made sexual, homophobic and racist remarks. It comes after weeks of controversy following the announcement of an investigation into the allegations, as well as his inaction to address such remarks made by others. Then came a vote of no confidence from the union repping sheriff’s department staff. With subpoenas issued, Henderson must have seen the writing on the wall and stepped down.

One of the city’s largest homeless shelter operators got the boot this week from the Department of Homeless Services. City Limits first reported that Aguila Inc., which has a history of financial mismanagement and hazardous conditions, will no longer run the men’s shelter inside the Park View Hotel. The decision was reached as the city does an audit of its shelter system to eliminate bad agencies. Aguila CEO Ray Sanchez failed to reform the notoriously problematic but politically connected nonprofit.