This might be a daft question, because I'm more a creative type than a technical one, but why does the seed node have to be in NYC if it's a flight away ? As long as it's one of several scattered across the globe, why can't it be at your place, or at least in the same town so that you can do any maintenance work yourself (or at least get it done locally) ?
RE: DHF Proposal For Hardware For NYC Seed Node