There is no more "meat on the bone" in Queens or Manhattan for investors. 

@Joe CarterIf you make it to Wichita - welcome - I like the Northeast (Specifically Manhattan which is about all I've visited and loved everytime) but no way in Gods Green Earth I'd live there full time. 

I invest in Ulster and Sullivan County which are both under two hours by car from where I live in Manhattan . it makes investing a lot more manageable for me to know I can be there in two hours and there are still some great deals to be found. 

Currently out of the total gross income20% goes to taxes and insurance (Jersey City 15 minutes from Manhattan) + flood insurance.

And there are more and more new 2-family homes being built all over the place.With price per square foot still hovering in the mid $200s and the commute to Downtown Manhattan an easy 30 minutes, Bayonne is attracting a lot of interest, and I think it's a great house-hacking opportunity, especially for those coming from much more expensive markets (most of NYC and northern suburbs).To your point, the larger-scale activity is east of 440 on the former Marine Terminal only because there is so much space there and room for big-box stores like Costco, Lidl, Lowe's, Walmart, etc. 

I work for a family office in Manhattan with $300MM+ in assets, I can tell you, successful sophisticated Landlords and the larger real estate companies who own hundreds of millions of dollars worth of residential and commercial real estate are not sending e-mails to their tenants offering rent abatements or discounts right out the gate.

Lower Manhattan was ravaged in 2001 after the WTC attacks.

I don't envision Syracuse RE value going sky high (usually this is only in larger cities like Manhattan or up and coming cities and waterfronts).Good luck. 

You shouldn't have problems screening tenants who are professionals and want the short commute into Manhattan.

I have a tenant in a high end rental in Manhattan.