Who's up and who's down this week?

The pipe bombs delivered to at least 10 people this week have a few things in common. All of those targeted are Democrats and progressives. All of the intended recipients are also high-profile critics of President Donald Trump. And it’s looking likely that the same person – or persons – is behind the delivery of all of them. But what also unifies them is this: There are no winners when it comes to terrorism, only losers.

The pipe bombs delivered to at least nine people this week have a few things in common. All of those targeted are Democrats and progressives. All of the intended recipients are also high-profile critics of President Donald Trump. And it’s looking likely that the same person – or persons – is behind the delivery of all of them. But what also unifies them is this: There are no winners when it comes to terrorism, only losers.

WINNERS:

Andy Byford -

New York City’s subways are still badly in need of improvements, but there was a glimmer of hope with this week’s news that September marked the best monthly performance for the system in years. Andy Byford, who runs the New York City Transit Authority, cautioned that it could be just a blip, and it’s clear the MTA still needs billions of dollars to fix things up. But with the governor doubling down on congestion pricing, and Byford’s message getting through in the national media, there’s a chance that his tenure could ultimately mark a pivot point.

John Faso -

Rep. John Faso was New York’s VIP at the White House this week, as the only New York lawmaker to stand next to President Donald Trump as he signed sweeping anti-opioid legislation. Faso, facing a tough bid for reelection in the 19th Congressional District, showcased something his Democratic challenger can’t – the ability to pass a piece of legislation in Congress. Delgado may have former President Barack Obama’s endorsement, but this week, Faso was Trump’s right hand man.

Gerard Fitzgerald -

A new report shows that uniformed employees of the New York City Fire Department make more money than workers at any other city agency, on average. That’s a feather in the firefighting helmet of Firefighters union boss Fitzgerald, whose average member appears to take home around $155k. Take THAT, cops. The high pay helps recruit New York’s Bravest – including more women and racial minorities than ever! – even if it doesn’t stop homophobic discrimination, as a new lawsuit alleges.

Henry Garrido -

Following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, first responders who got sick from working on the scene got unlimited sick leave. But other New York City employees got no such benefit, despite many suffering from 9/11-related illness after assisting with the search and rescue efforts. But at long last, and after significant public pressure, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio approved the unlimited sick time for members of DC 37, one of the city’s largest public unions – a big win for Garrido and the union he leads

Marc Molinaro -

GOP gubernatorial candidate Marc Molinaro got what he wanted – a TV debate with Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Despite the incessant interruptions by the incumbent, the event gave Molinaro a chance to introduce himself to an electorate that doesn’t know much about him. Third-party candidates Stephanie Miner, Larry Sharpe and Howie Hawkins were left off the stage, unlike previous also-ran candidates in 2010 and 2014. But that was an added bonus for Molinaro, who doesn’t need any extra competition if the Dutchess County executive is to have any chance to make the race close with less than two weeks to go before the Nov. 6 election.

LOSERS:

Javier Almodovar -

For all the criticism and chaos NYCHA has weathered in the past year, it doesn’t look like much is changing. Exhibit A is the nearly 32,000 people who have experienced heat or hot water loss since Oct. 1, leaving Javier Almodovar, NYCHA’s director of heating management, to answer. The data-driven tracking system that NYCHA uses to inform tenants of outages appeared to not be working either, leaving 3,000 people in Queensbridge South in Long Island City without heat and hot water for an entire weekend before authorities were alerted of the problem. Almodovar said it himself: “If it continues to happen, we have to come to the conclusion that this is not working.”

Pamela Harris -

After living the high life with a cruise ship getaway, Victoria’s Secret shopping sprees and a home spa, former Assemblywoman Pamela Harris is now going to prison. A federal judge sentenced her on Oct. 24 to six months in prison following her guilty plea earlier this year to charges that she misused government funds for Superstorm Sandy victims, lied to the FBI and pocketed New York City Council funds earmarked for Coney Island Generation Gap, the nonprofit she once led. While the prison sentence was lighter than the three and a half years that prosecutors asked for, she will also have to complete 400 hours of community service and pay tens of thousands of dollars in restitution.

Rich Marin -

The world’s tallest ferris wheel is six feet under, after the planned Staten Island tourist attraction was officially killed. New York Wheel founder Marin admitted he deserved some blame for his wheely bad idea, but we can’t let this downturn discourage big dreamers with ideas spinning in their heads. The city needs a ferr share of innovators that can turn commuter parking lots into tourist dollars.

Scott O’Brien -

Exploding equipment isn’t a good lookfor any company. Unfortunately, O’Brien has to deal with that. He’s the CEO at Safariland, which outfits the New York City Police Department with Vievu brand body cameras. And this week, one of those cams exploded. Luckily, no one was hurt because the officer removed the camera when it started smoking, but 3,000 others got recalled. Police may be big fans of finding smoking guns, but smoking body cameras? Not so much.

Dean Skelos -

One convenient way for Republicans to tar certain Democratic lawmakers this election cycle is to link them to former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, who was found guilty of corruption for a second time earlier this year. But self-dealing is a bipartisan pursuit in Albany. Indeed, this week former state Senate Republican Majority Leader Dean Skelos reminded everyone of that fact when he was sentenced to a little over four years in prison for his own crooked behavior. At least his sentence was a bit shorter than his first time around – and he probably won’t have to serve all of it.

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.