my ties to new york were that i live 30 min from the city (in NJ), have been to the city countless times so i am familiar with it, my dad has worked there for the past 25 years and my best friend goes to this particular school.
i consider your case to be valid too and im pretty sure it is considered that way to med schools.
im not sure if either of our ties are “strong” persay, but better than us being in the state for 1 month when we were kids lol