Penn is the third best program in Philly, which is not to denegrate it so much as to agree with the prior post that Temple and Jeff are two of the nation's best programs.
That being said, I do think there is less here than meets the eye - yes, they have brought in Drs. Slipman, Cheville, and Chou, and yes, they put on what is quite possibly the best presentation of all the programs you will go around to see. On the other hand, why did David Musick, the vice chair and director of education, whose vision it was to revamp the program, leave to go to ECU? Why is it that Dr. Chou's fellowship has been placed on hold? Why haven't Dr. Slipman fellows come from the Penn program for a very long time (or, perhaps, why haven't Penn residents wanted to apply)? How much cancer reahb exposure do you get, or really need, for that matter? I am not sure I know the answers to those questions, but I would take a step back and ask.
As for the best program in NY? That is easy - Kessler. Yes, I know it is in NJ, but there is no comparison. Sinai and Columbia/Cornell are up and coming but clearly have their flaws, and NYU/Rusk is living on a reputation built on past glories.