WINNERS

Loretta Lynch – The Brooklyn U.S. Attorney held the
same job at the end of the Clinton administration, when street crime was
its top target. As the office turned its focus to white collar crime,
some wondered whether Lynch had the experience to adapt. This week she
answered that question by unveiling an almost idiot-proof case against
Assemblyman William Boyland Jr. She hasn’t brought down any financial
titans recently, unlike her Manhattan counterpart Preet Bharara, but she
produced a Boyland complaint with so many incriminating wiretaps,
emails and text messages that the defendant walked out of court looking
like he had “I did it” tattooed on his forehead. Allegedly.

Eric Schneiderman – The attorney general finally got
a chance to do what all law enforcement officials dream of doing: hold a
press conference with a tableful of guns. Schneiderman got the chance
to highlight a dangerous loophole in the state’s gun laws, while
clearing up any confusion over who really is the state’s top cop. It’s
unclear whether that will force Cuomo to reconsider giving Schneiderman
special powers to investigate corruption, but it certainly doesn’t hurt.

LOSERS

John Liu– On the job, the city comptroller’s pension
reform plan is under fire after two refugees from the failed MF Global
ended up running city retirees’ investments. On the campaign trail,
Liu’s aides Chung Seto and Mei-Hua Ru are in the crosshairs as federal
prosecutors probe his fundraising. And Liu’s life is pretty much all
about either the job and the campaign trail.

William Boyland Jr. – Two weeks after he walked free
from Manhattan federal court, arms raised in triumph, the Brooklyn pol
is back in hot water, this time with separate charges so brazen they
formed immediate punch lines. Allegations that he solicited bribes from
undercover feds to pay for lawyers to defend him the day after he was
indicted in the separate case could land him in jail for up to 30 years.
And unlike some of his corrupt Albany counterparts, all that alleged
corruption didn’t make him any real money - an affidavit of his finances
revealed he was too impoverished to afford his own defense.

– For the complete list of this week’s winners and losers, head to City Hall…

The squabbling comes after the City Council’s recent 40–8 home rule
message to support permit parking on New York City streets, paving the
way for the state Legislature to take up the issue in a proposal
introduced jointly by Sen. Daniel Squadron and Assemblywoman Joan
Millman.

The bill allows communities the choice for permit parking on a
neighborhood-by-neighborhood basis, with at least 20 percent of spots
open for non-permit parking. The permits would fund upgrades and
improvements to the city’s transit system, but they would not be allowed
on commercial streets.

While the Council vote wasn’t close, it did draw the ire of several
South Brooklyn Council members including Lew Fidler and Charles Barron,
who voted against it, and the normally progressive Vincent Gentile, who
abstained.

Councilman Al Vann voted against it, while his former Assembly chief of staff Letitia James was one of the bill’s sponsors.

– to read the full article by Stephen Witt, head to City Hall…