This is a terrible definition.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upstate_New_York
What the REAL (MY) definition is:
Long Island: Nassau, Suffolk counties
New York City: New York, Queens, Kings, Richmond, Bronx counties
Hudson Region: Westchester, Rockland, Orange, Dutchess, Putnam counties
Catskills: Delaware, Greene, Sullivan, Ulster, Columbia counties
Capital District: Albany, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Washington counties
Northern/Adirondacks: Warren, Essex, Clinton, Franklin, Hamilton, Fulton, Lewis, St. Lawrence, Jefferson counties
Central: Montgomery, Schoharie, Otsego, Oneida, Herkimer, Madison, Chenango, Broome, Tioga, Cortland, Onandaga, Oswego counties
Finger Lakes: Cayuga, Wayne, Tompkins, Chemung, Schuyler, Yates, Seneca, Ontario, Stuben counties
Western: Monroe, Livingston, Orleans, Genesee, Wyoming, Allegany, Niagara, Erie, Cattaragus, Chatauqua counties