This week’s biggest Winners & Losers

Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney secured a guilty plea in the gruesome Gilgo Beach killer case. After denying it for three years, Rex Heuermann finally pled guilty this week to killing seven women and admitted to an eighth murder in the decades-old case. Tierney said he hoped the result would bring some closure to the victims’ families.

Sure, democracy is cool, but have you ever cruised unopposed in a race for an open seat? Everyone knows Vanessa Aronson and (likely) Leah Halton-Pope are going to take over Alex Bores’ and Crystal Peoples-Stokes’ seats, respectively. In Aronson’s case, no one else filed or petitioned, while Halton-Pope is benefitting from a conveniently timed retirement. So until January, they can shake hands, appear at a few fundraisers and get their suits ironed for the 2027 session. 

It’s another full circle moment for Rebecca Jones Gaston. Having experienced the foster care system firsthand as a child, she’ll soon oversee child welfare in New York City as the new commissioner of the Administration for Children’s Services. It’s a role Jones Gaston is well-prepared for – and not just because of her lived experience. She previously oversaw child welfare efforts for the Biden administration and in Maryland and Oregon.

Let’s get ready to rumble in Smithtown. A routine Town Council meeting turned violent when Council Member Thomas Lohmann allegedly punched Deputy Town Supervisor Tom McCarthy repeatedly. Lohmann, a former NYPD detective, has been arrested, and McCarthy wants a restraining order. Smithtown’s fight club isn’t alone. Last year, North Carolina county commissioners brawled; in 2024, Maldives Parliament members couldn’t stop throwing punches; and in 2011, the Westfield, NJ Town Council audience nearly fought during a bizarre meeting.

It’s not every week that a single state senator gets not one, not two, but THREE stories written about them. Unfortunately for state Sen. Luis Sepúlveda, none of them were very good. The recently named chair of the state Senate Judiciary Committee allegedly got into an argument with a judge presiding over a case Sepúlveda was trying. That judge tried to resign days later. Two other stories detailed a history of shoddy professional work repping clients. But all press is good press… right?

The indignities continue for New Jersey commuters. Plans are in the works to shut down all non-World Cup travel out of Penn Station to New Jersey for hours on game days. That could cause cascading problems at the Port Authority Bus Terminal and on PATH trains. For Alex Lasry, the CEO of the New York New Jersey 2026 World Cup Host Committee, travel headaches plus slower than expected hotel bookings have made the event look like a lot of hassle with little return.