I wonder if this is in violation of the NYS Constitution like it was in Pennsylvania and other states.
It is addressed in the article you didn’t read.
Currently, the state constitution requires voters to be absent from their home county, ill, or physically disabled to be able to vote with an “absentee ballot.”
It is. The best evidence is that a year or two ago, the NY voters rejected a referendum to amend the constitution to allow voting by mail.