Coronavirus News

When Governor Cuomo locked down the state at the beginning of the pandemic, businesses faced uncertainty and significant losses. When the economy began to reopen in Upstate New York, some businesses downstate got creative. A wine bar in New York City was one of them.

The team behind Compagnie des Vins Surnaturels NYC discovered property in Interlaken on Cayuga Lake and opened their new venture, Supernatural Lake, in July. The project is a wine bar, restaurant, and bed-and-breakfast, with the New York City-based staff now living in the Finger Lakes.

We talk to the team about their decision to shift their focus to Upstate, the economic impact of the pandemic, and what it means to get creative in the food and beverage industry during this time. Our guests: 

• Caleb Ganzer, managing partner for Compagnie des Vins Surnaturels NYC and Supernatural Lake
• Eric Bolyard, executive chef and managing partner for Compagnie des Vins Surnaturels NYC and Supernatural Lake

A decision by New Jersey leaders to raise taxes on that state’s wealthiest residents has provided new hope to advocates who want to tax the rich in New York -- but Gov. Andrew Cuomo and his budget director are throwing cold water on that proposal. 

New Jersey’s top tax rate for those making between $1 million and $5 million a year will rise to 10.75%. That rate already applied to people making over $5 million a year. 

Those who want to tax the rich in New York hailed the move and asked Cuomo to follow suit.

Friday marks the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, and some families are finding ways to celebrate together, even when they have to be apart. It’s a day that Gail Wolk celebrates every year with relatives.

“It’s having everyone together and talking about all different things and laughing,” said Wolk. “It’s just family.”

Sometime in November, the New York State Thruway system will transition to cashless tolling. All of its tollbooths will go dark, and a network of electronic tolling monitors will switch on.

New York’s fiscal year is nearly half over, and the state budget remains billions of dollars out of balance, largely due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic-related economic shutdown.

So far, Gov. Andrew Cuomo has been relying on temporary measures to keep the state afloat, but fiscal experts say it’s time to make some hard decisions. 

E.J. McMahon with the conservative-leaning fiscal watchdog group the Empire Center, and Ron Deutsch with the liberal-leaning Fiscal Policy Institute, do agree on some things.