While many of us are looking forward to 2021 being better than 2020, it might not turn out that way. Here are some things we know will be coming in 2021. 

COVID-19 will still be making headlines in 2021. Vaccines are already being administered to front line workers and made their way to nursing homes this week. That rollout will continue in 2021. Despite that, we may still see some of the habits from the pandemic linger. Masks, hand washing reminders, and social distancing might continue for some time. 

Pandemic-related changes for restaurants and our education systems will continue to be seen. The business model for restaurants changed to rely more heavily on takeout and delivery. Schools developed ways to continue education online. Some districts even skipped snow days recently to continue classes online. On the flip side, we might see some schools decide being in a physical classroom is important as we learn more from transmission data. 

The Census count was done in 2020 and we’ll soon get an idea of how many congressional seats New York will be losing. Early projections already show New York losing two seats in the House of Representatives. The redistricting process begins in 2021 and we’ll see a change in how New Yorkers are represented in Washington. Typically, the most junior members of Congress are the ones who see their seats eliminated. 

While Democrats control both houses of the state legislature, we’ll still likely see a battle between members over more progressive policies. More than 100 lawmakers are in favor of raising taxes on the ultra-wealthy, but there will likely be debate over what that looks like. 

There are also a number of local elections in 2021. The mayors for Albany, Buffalo, Binghamton, Rochester, and Syracuse are all up for election.