A big reason their death rate, per 1000 positive cases is high is.........
The number of cases is in NY (and NJ and CT) is wildly underreported, compared to other states.
NY actually has tested more people, about 30 per thousand, than any other state except RI (32 per thousand). But in NY, and NJ the number of positive test results per thousand is off the charts.
In states like FL, TX, OH, CA, MD, they test about 10 people for every positive result. In that ballpark. So the undercounting by failure to test infected people isn’t too bad.
But in NY its 2.5 people per positive. In NJ, its 2.
So you have many many people in New York (and NJ) who have the bug, but who cant get tested, because their symptoms aren’t bad. Those people who mostly dont have severe cases, so they live.
BTW
It is probably true that the subway system has been a big reason why NY’s has so many confirmed cases.
BUT, that wasn’t the important question that was asked here. The question was
Hy are the number of deaths in NY, per thousand of confirmed cases?
Again, the reason is that in NY you probably don’t get tested unless you have severe symptoms. That is the confirmed cases, for the most part, are in significant danger of death. That is far less true in states that do more testing per thousand of confirmed testing. Many of the confirmed in those states are more or less asymptomatic.