Personality
This week’s biggest Winners & Losers
Who’s up and who’s down this week?
Public school students across the state are back to school this week. When we (nerds) were kids, that usually meant making the annual pilgrimage to the promised land, also known as Staples (or in some cases, Target). The thrill of picking out new school supplies, deciding what color folder was for which subject and preparing for a new year was frankly intoxicating. But based on the number of ads we’ve seen lately, apparently, Amazon is the place everyone is going these days. Sure, we are Kathryn Hahn fans over here. But what fun is that? Is nothing sacred?
Erica Phillips & Tony Perlstein -
It won’t always be sunshine and lollipops in the Mamdani administration, so Erica Phillips and Tony Perlstein should enjoy the honeymoon period while it lasts. Phillips is now leading the city Education Department’s Early Childhood Division, tasked with making sure the mayor’s ambitious 2-K agenda works. It’s had a rocky start, but nowhere to go but up. And Perlstein gets to be a bonafide comrade as the head of Mamdani’s new Office of Worker Power, announced on Labor Day.
Ben Chevat -
Ben Chevat has been working for decades on behalf of first responders and now leads 9/11 Health Watch, which brought a lawsuit against New York City to obtain records related to the toxic air around ground zero. After 25 years, those records have finally been released. As comedian Jon Stewart said, “People like Ben Chevat, who is a giant pain in the ass, and I say that in the best of ways, he is the best of us.”
John Mangin -
After an army of pro-housing allies rallied behind him, John Mangin was confirmed as chair of the Board of Standards and Appeals by the New York City Council. The legislative body was initially skeptical of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s nominee for the obscure, yet important, position – voicing concerns about Mangin’s role in crafting a series of pro-housing charter amendments last year. But that skepticism was no match for the power of YIMBY.
Peter Oberacker -
It’s SO ober for the Catskills congressional candidate. National Republican forces are turning off the money spigot and yanking planned ads in the effort to unseat Democratic Rep. Josh Riley. Peter Oberacker was already struggling in a tough year for the GOP … but the state senator’s old Facebook post praising his Nazi grandfather’s military service may have been the final nail in the coffin. Over/under on Oberacker? Nein point loss.
Rudy Giuliani & Mike Bloomberg -
It’s rare for us to have a winner and loser for the same issue, but the shameful actions of former Mayors Rudy Giuliani and Mike Bloomberg in covering up ground zero’s toxic air quality warrants it. Newly released documents show that City Hall actually knew about the dangers, but the mayoral duo publicly insisted the air was safe to breathe, causing a catastrophe. Former EPA chief Christie Whitman had the decency to apologize for her role, and we hope the former mayors follow her lead.
Anthony & Joseph Livreri -
There’s no such thing as too much pizza, but the same cannot be said of bribes. Brothers Joseph and Anthony Livreri, who own a Queens pizzeria, pleaded guilty this week to conspiracy and bribery counts for illegal payments made in 2022 to Eric Ulrich, the Department of Buildings commissioner under Mayor Eric Adams. Their plea covers only a slice of the corruption allegations against Ulrich, who’s set to go to trial later this month.