Winners & Losers
This week’s biggest Winners & Losers
Who’s up and who’s down this week?
After beating the No. 2 seeded Anett Kontaveit in the second round of the U.S. Open, Serena Williams told an interviewer, in the understatement of the century: “I’m a pretty good player.” If only we could see more of that kind of modesty in New York politics! We can’t go a half hour without Eric Adams declaring himself the face of the Democratic Party. If only, instead of running for president, Bill de Blasio had said, “I’m a pretty good mayor.” Modesty or no modesty, this week we were all winners the second Williams stepped her diamond-encrusted shoe onto the court.
Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn -
“It’s never been about rules. It’s never been about transparency,” The Brooklyn Democratic leader said in July about the reformers in the New Kings Democrats who oppose her. “It’s always been about power.” Well, real recognize real in Brooklyn. In a surprise to absolutely no one, Bichotte Hermelyn’s party held a quiet meeting to change the rules, reduce transparency, and make it easier to maintain power this week. Is she going down as County Boss? Not without a fight.
Anthony Cannataro -
There’s a new face helming New York’s highest court. Associate Judge Anthony Cannataro was officially designated to serve as acting chief judge in place of Janet DiFiore who stepped down after six years in the role amid a web of intrigue and speculation. Temporary or not, it’s no easy position to be in: Cannataro, former administrative judge of New York City’s civil court, is tasked with both leading the seven-member court and overseeing the entire state court system.
Bhairavi Desai -
Despite striking a hard-fought deal with New York City last fall on debt relief for taxi medallion owners, it’s not until this month that the program is finally getting up and running. Despite the delay, the New York Taxi Workers Alliance’s Bhairavi Desai celebrated an update agreement with the city this week, even though the interest rate for the loans has gone up since last fall due to inflation. For the taxi medallion owners who fasted for 15 days for debt relief, this deal is still a sweet victory.
Nauman Hussain -
A year ago, limo company operator Nauman Hussain pleaded guilty to 20 counts of criminally negligent homicide. Back in 2018, a limo his company owned crashed in Schoharie due to faulty brakes, killing all 18 people in the vehicle and two additional bystanders. As part of the plea, Hussain would not see any jail time. But now, a state judge has thrown out the deal and suggested that Hussain should face up to four years in prison. Though he thought he avoided both a trial and time behind bars, Hussain turned out not to be so lucky.
Anthony Marciano -
Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor rejected the NYPD detective’s request to halt the city’s vaccine mandate for municipal workers, marking another loss for Marciano in his months-long legal battle. In his initial claim, Marciano, who is on active duty while he appeals a lower court’s dismissal of his lawsuit, cited New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ declaration that he wanted to lift the vaccine requirement for performers and athletes so Brooklyn Nets’ point guard Kyrie Irving could play in home games.
Louis Molina -
The Department of Correction Commissioner’s staff was again accused this week of negligence that led to the death of the 13th inmate on Rikers Island this year. Two correction officers and a captain allegedly watched Michael Nieves, a 40-year-old man with a history of mental illness, bleed for 10 minutes after he slit his throat with a razor, The New York Times reported, citing sources familiar with the incident. The captain and guards were suspended and the incident is under investigation, Molina said.