This week’s biggest Winners & Losers

New York’s highest court delivered a resounding victory to opponents of a law that would have extended municipal voting rights to green card-holders and other noncitizens who are living legally in New York City. Though it was passed back in 2021, the law never went into effect and now likely never will, all thanks to an aggressive Republican-led opposition coalition made up of Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella, Rep. Nicole Malliotakis and more. The only question left is which progressive policy those elected officials will spend their time railing against next.

The last three elected mayors of Buffalo went from the state Senate to leading the Queen City. Will Sean Ryan be the fourth? Ryan’s mayoral bid picked up the Working Families Party endorsement, following an endorsement by the Erie County Democrats. But Ryan still faces a competitive five-way primary – and acting Mayor Chris Scanlon – as he seeks to go from representing North Buffalo, Elmwood Village and the leafy suburbs to an office overlooking Buffalo’s Niagara Square.

Gov. Kathy Hochul refused to back down on reversing congestion pricing, and she finally made U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy blink. A day before the initial March 21 deadline, Duffy announced on X that the DOT is granting New York a 30-day extension to halt congestion pricing. Along with Hochul, the MTA voiced that they won’t turn off the cameras. This is in light of the Trump administration threatening to pull funding from the MTA for not proving transit crime stats.

This is going to ruin the tour. What tour? The book tour. After Schumer helped give Republicans the Democratic votes they needed for their spending bill to pass, his base turned on him – and his net favorability among liberals dropped by 41 points. Democrats as a whole aren't doing too great, either. Although Schumer canceled his planned book tour, he’s brushed off calls for him to step down. “I'm the best leader for the Senate…I am the best at winning Senate seats," the Senate minority leader said on CBS Mornings.

Technically, the Legislature’s minority leaders are winners for a judge upholding the constitutionality of an outside income limit. They were, after all, named as defendants in the lawsuit. Really though, the ruling is bad news for Rob Ortt and Will Barclay because it means that a chunk of their members will need to decide between public office and their at times incredibly lucrative jobs on the outside. Some Democrats are impacted, but the GOP bears the brunt of the ruling.

Mayor Eric Adams says he is still running for mayor, but his prospects look bleaker than ever. While he might not find himself behind bars anytime soon, his fundraising haul for 2025 is barely enough to cover student loans at a state school, let alone a high-stakes primary campaign. And his supporters like Brooklyn Democratic Party Chair Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn are ditching him for former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s camp. Well, at least he used to have a shorty in Far Rock.