Lawmakers push back against Cuomo Medicaid deficit reduction ideas

State lawmakers on Wednesday wanted to direct their wrath at an array of ideas Gov. Andrew Cuomo is proposing to close a deficit in the state’s Medicaid program that provides health insurance for nearly one-third of New Yorkers, but they couldn't get to him.

So, they did the next best thing and took their complaints to two of his top health officials.


There are a few dining establishments in New York City that always pop into my head whenever the topic of loud music comes up. In a city populated by base-thumping sports bars and Muzak-blaring chain restaurants, low-key eateries like, say, Joe Allen in the theater district or that little Hungarian pastry shop near Columbia University are notable for playing no music at all.

The International Restaurant & Foodservice Show of NY
March 8-10, 2020 at The Javits Center | New York, NY

Register for your TWO FREE TICKETS now! Simply enter your NYSRA member ID when prompted. Call (518)453-4222 if you need your member ID number.
Inside New York City’s Chinese restaurant crisis

From 2016 to 2019, the number of Chinese restaurants in New York City dropped by 16% (from 2,969 to 2,493), or one in six, according to an analysis of Yelp data by the Chinese Hospitality Alliance Tea Talk (CHATT) and corroborated by the Museum of Chinese in America. Those numbers are roughly reflected by a 7% drop nationally, as 2014’s 46,757 Chinese restaurants fell to 43,638 in 2018. The American Chinese Culinary Federation now puts the national count at as low as 37,000, according to a Foreign Policy  report .

National Restaurant Association applauds US trade deal with Canada, Mexico

U.S. President Donald Trump signed a trade deal Wednesday that replaces 1994's North American Free Trade Agreement. The pact — known as the U.S. Mexico Canada Agreement — ends what the president called the "worst" U.S. trade deal in history and includes working procedures for more than $1 trillion in trade annually in North America.

Although Canada, Mexico and the U.S. came to agreement on the measure in 2018, Canada has yet to ratify the final deal.