One thing about New York, it is smack dab in the middle of the great planes.
Great planes to diving destinations. ;^)

Diving wise NYC has a lot to offer. The NY and NJ wreck diving,
spearfishing, fresh water lakes and the proximity to many other areas in a
short drive. If you are in for a cold adventure, spend a weekend at Lake
George and dive the Radeau. It is the oldest intact warship, (from the
French and Indian War) in the western hemisphere. One hundred seven feet
down and about 37-41 degrees F year-round.

Expense wise OUCH!!!! Costs big bucks to live in the NYC metro area.

Good luck,

Fleas

There are hundreds of wrecks in the NY/NJ area. Many of them absolutely
fantastic. In the up to 130 fsw range the most famous ones are The San
Diego, The Stolt, The Tolten, The Algol, The Arundo, The Oregon. In most of
them there are lobster, flounder, bass, and black fish. Occasionally we see
sharks, tuna, and dolphins. Then you have the wrecks where the main
attraction are artifacts that could be found from ships anywhere from the
1800s to WW II ships sunk by german U-boats.
Visibility ranges from 1 to 60 feet. 20 to 30 on most days. Water temp below
100 ft ranges between 38 in April to upper 50s in October.
There many dive boats that take you out. The usual routines are a dive, two
hour surface interval and another dive, or one long dive.
If you need any more details, email me.

There are lots of great planes in NY.

Diving there can be pretty good, though I didn't like the boats much.
And precious few of the divers.  Low viz often, long boat trips.

Shore diving up the coast in RI, MA, ME can be pretty good, but cold.
There are some decent shore diving spots in NJ and lots of the afore
mentioned wreck boats.

But it's fairly easy to hop a plane to Florida for the weekend.  If you
plan in advance, you can get pretty cheap fares for three day weekends.

Yup, great planes.

Cheap and frequent flights to SoFla.

I love diving up here. An adventure every time. You don't know what the
vis will be like until you get to the wreck itself. The wrecks are just
that, wrecks. Nothing much "planted" here to attract marine life. Most
all have a history behind them. As Lalin posted the more popular ones to
dive, there are many many others (and Lalin, how can you forget to
mention the RP Resor?). A source for diving up here is Dan Berg's Wreck
Valley books. http://www.aquaexplorers.com/
The dive boats are spartan, but get you to the dive sites. There are
dive boats that leave out of Bklyn (Sheepshead Bay) and LI (Freeport/Pt.
Lookout and further east). I dive out of Freeport. Most boat rides to
the more popular dive sites (unless inshore, which usually means reduced
vis) are about 2hrs. You bring your own food and drink. Some don't allow
"adult" beverages, some don't care as long as you are not diving again.

You can contact me if you want further info at arpierre"AT"gmail"DOT"com

I love diving up here.

I'd just like to thank everyone for their responses.  I'm sure I'll be
back, looking for more info on other places in the USA...

Bryan