I have to agree with Aaron.
Summer splits or makeing nucs to overwinter cannot be fully assesed until
seeing the results in the spring. I'm alos in "upstate NY" the Adirondacks
actually.  As to what type of queen to use, The NWC are at the top of my
list as well. I will mention however that this year I am grafting queens
from inseminatd Minnesota Hygenic queens and SMRd inseminated queens and
creating nucs with the offspring mated with the "local" drones of my own
stock and maybe a few surving swarms from last year. As always, the
learning curve in beekeeping is broad and the best way to learn is through
first hand experience. Consider also the possibility that if your current
colonies are well cared for and come through the winter in good shape, you
can make splits with them next year, double your numbers and maybe avoid a
swarm or two.

Tim