WINNERS & LOSERS

Who was up and who was down last week

No one can hold up the 24/7 news cycle. Just ask Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin, who tried to outrun questions about a last-minute budget proposal on bail reform. Politicians might lament how little time there is for making anything other than snap judgments, but constituents and their news feeds got needs, you feel? So we all better move quickly in figuring out who was up and who was down last week before the latest news cycle rends our communal attention span in two.

BRIAN CUNNINGHAM

Straight to work! Brian Cunningham won’t be sworn in until after the budget is passed, but he’s still headed straight to Albany after winning a special election for Assembly District 43 in Central Brooklyn. That isn’t WFP country anymore, as Cunningham defeated WFP nominee Jelanie DeShong. But Cunningham is also going to have to get straight to work on getting reelected – he’s got a primary in three months.

WINNERS

OUR PICK

LOSERS

OUR PICK

ANTONIO REYNOSO

Whoever thought that placard abuse in the Brooklyn borough president’s office would end after Adams left was mistaken. New Borough President Antonio Reynoso admitted to parking with an expired city parking permit, as well as to driving with an expired registration. The anti-car pol quickly owned up to what he did and apologized, but the incident served as a reminder that the allure placard abuse can get to anyone.

THE BEST OF THE REST KYRIE IRVING

The Nets point guard is getting another shot – at playing basketball in the Barclays Center, despite being unvaccinated for COVID-19. Adams said he would lift the vaccine mandate for performers and athletes. Only three weeks ago, Irving made our “losers” list when Adams said he would not lift the requirement because “it would send the wrong message just to have an exception for one player.”

AMY HOWE & JASON ROBINS

Mobile sports betting companies like FanDuel and DraftKings, headed by these two executives, can keep raking in real dough from fantasy games after a state Court of Appeals ruling.

THE REST OF THE WORST JOHN MILLER

It’s not a secret that the NYPD conducted surveillance of Muslims in New York City after 9/11, a controversial practice that was extensively documented in the media and resulted in three lawsuits. But that didn’t stop John Miller, the NYPD’s deputy commissioner of intelligence and counterterrorism, from falsely insisting that “there is no evidence” that spying happened.

KATHLYN BARRETT-LAYNE

The Rev. Kathlyn Barrett-Layne’s time in the Adams administration didn’t last, as she got the boot after the Daily News revealed anti-gay comments she had made in the past.

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Vol. 11 Issue 12

March 28, 2022

THE HIGHER EDUCATION POWER

100

Félix Matos Rodríguez and CUNY's post-pandemic future

CITYANDSTATENY.COM @CITYANDSTATENY March 28, 2022

Cover photograph: Emily Assiran

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