Buffalo NY is got it name because every spring and fall, herds of eastern wood bison would congregate there and swim the Niagara River as they migrated north and south. The eastern wood bison was never as numerous as the plains bison and was hunted to extinction several centuries ago. Some wood bison still remain in Canada.
The flag shown is the original Starts and Bars flag of the Confederacy It was used until May, 1863. The more famous Confederate Battle Flag was first flown in Carlisle, PA just before the Battle of Gettysburg. It was designed that way so as not to be confused with the US flag during the heat of battle. Funny that a person from NY has to tell that to a person from NC.
The northern end of Appalachia is in NY. Outside of the big cities, rural NY is an entirely different country.
Here is a map of the last election for governor in NY. A mean that the county voted for Astorino. C means they went for Cuomo.