As an example I recently saw this article posted: http://qz.com/45728/new-york-is-now-a-better-place-to-start-...
Now I can't even find the post anymore.
I see lots of posts about hackNY get flagged with no comments on why they were flagged?
It's just an odd phenomenon.
There have been just 25 submissions about HackNY since 2010. A recent submission (maybe the one that came to mind for you?), http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5098983, seems to have been deleted by the submitter. Before that, you have to go back to July 31 2012 to find a HackNY-related submission with more than one point. These submissions simply aren't showing something compelling enough to make the front page frequently enough for HackNY to itself become a topic of interest here.
Regarding the qz.com article, it's still up at http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5097071, it looks like it just didn't get much interest. I read it, and I think the article doesn't make its case, and it contains some out-and-out errors of thinking.
A quick look at all articles from qz.com finds that submissions from that site in general do "OK" -- the top-ranked submission from that site has just 97 points (and it's about the script for an upcoming Silicon Valley show); these days, 97 points gets you maybe an hour or so on the front page. Out of 124 submissions from qz.com, only 20 have 10 or more points, the bare minimum typically required to spend any time on the front page. So, I'd say that if you're looking for exposure for New York related stuff, qz.com probably isn't going to do it for you.
Keep in mind that HN really is Valley-centered. There are people here representing startup communities in other areas, like Chicago and New York, but you'll have an uphill battle to draw a lot of attention to startup communities outside of the Valley.
Why doesn't the NY startup community build its own niche site for startups & investors & other interested people to socialize a bit?