As a "for what its worth":
The term Upstate NY was started by New Yorker magazine as a tongue in cheek insult to the "rubes and cowhands" IIRC that were out of sight of the city. As a lifetime denizen of NY, "Upstate" is no place in NY. I live in central NY, my family is from the Finger Lakes (earned land for service in the Revolutionary War), Albany is the Capital district, the Adirondacks is the Adirondacks. Rochester, even though it is farther east than the Finger Lakes, is part of Western NY, as is Buffalo. The Hudson Valley also seems to have a name.
I know this sounds too specific, but it is the same regional pride that folks from the Bronx or Queens have, and they get specificity without being lumped as Downstate NY. When a politician shows up in Syracuse talking about the problems of "Upstate", we all feel bad for the people discussed, but wonder what that has to do with us.
As an aside, when Elliot Spitzer was newly elected governor, he showed up in Binghamton and discussed how the economy seemed reminiscent of Appalachia. Well, it is Appalachia, so why was he surprised?