I thought the three programs were roughly on the same "tier." I thought that the difference between the programs was the personalities of them.
LIJ is located in a pretty posh area of long island, and it seemed like the residents didn't work extremely hard, but at the same time were able to see lots of good pathology since it's one of only two neuro programs in long island (high population density in the LI area).
SUNY Downstate was right in brooklyn, and to me it seemed like the volume of patients would be higher. At the same time, I think I remember them saying at the interview that there was opportunity to do rotations at Memorial Sloan Kettering, and possibly even a mandatory one in the PGY2 year. If a person feels like living real close to NYC, this is def a place to be.
Albany Med seemed to brag that it was the only show in town, and I thought that what they were saying was true. For the area between Syracuse and NYC, Albany Med is the only show around. It covers a lot of territory for a program in the NY area. I thought that of the three programs, Albany had the friendliest faculty, and it seemed like there was really good relations amongst the residents with each other and with the faculty. I thought that this helped a lot of the PGY4s get pretty good fellowships.