I feel like naming regions in New York is a fools errand, sure to “offend” everyone, but “western” New York is generally considered to be west of Rochester. Syracuse is about as Central New York as you can get.
FTFY
Similar phenomenon occurs in England, where "the north" and "the south" always begin to the north/south of whoever is being asked. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENeCYwms-Cc>
Like everything south of 175th Street in Chicagoland is Downstate Illinois. Indianapolis is in the center of Indiana, so they call everything outside the inner ring of suburbs {first half of city name}-tucky, as in a pejorative reference to Kentucky.
"And as much as I would like to attend, l haven't been above 72nd Street in over a decade." —Jack Donaghy, 30 Rock
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_regions_of_the_United_...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Beach_Bridge
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross_Bay_Veterans_Memorial_Br...