On this week's edition of New York NOW: What's ahead for New York in 2021? The COVID-19 pandemic is still raging, and the state's budget deficit is expected to be the controlling factor of all decisions for the foreseeable future.

We're joined this week by two panels of the state's top political insiders:

- Steve Greenberg is the former press secretary for two assembly speakers and former State Comptroller Carl McCall. He now runs Greenberg Public Relations.

- Bob Bellafiore was the first press secretary to Gov. George Pataki. He's a founder of Stanhope Partners.

- Liz Benjamin was the long-time host of Capital Tonight. She's now a managing director at Marathon Strategies.

- Morgan Hook is a managing director at SKDK. He previously did communications for SUNY and former Gov. David Paterson.

We'll also share some stories from people around the Capital Region as part of American Portrait on PBS. #NewYorkNOW #AmericanPortrait