What recent studies have shown is that while the naive herd immunity threshold is perhaps around 60% (working backwards from R0 estimates), after you factor in clustering of populations, baseline hygienic improvements, and moderate social distancing, that NY did reach an effective level of herd immunity.
What is the reason behind this?
I've seen a few papers testing asymptomatic patients (identified by contact tracing or other mass testing), with mixed results. NYC uses an in-house test for which I don't believe any paper exists, so I don't think we can say anything there. The IFR from NYC's serology is higher than most other estimates, which could imply under-ascertainment but could also be real (e.g., because they forced nursing homes to accept positive patients, because they were doing early intubation that we now know is harmful, etc.).