Route composed of trails.
Here is the map:
https://empiretrail.ny.gov/map
Some of the trails like Maybrook trail, sections 9 and 10 on the map are newly constructed, regional discussion about its opening:
https://www.bikeforums.net/northeast...ook-trail.html
There is a backroad route which exits the Putnam trail, bypasses Brewster and leads to Hopewell Junction, it is a bit hilly. The new Maybrook trail is a nice addition.
I did the Erie Canal from Buffalo to Albany last September, and they were repaving parts of it/paving dirt sections with gravel.
From Albany to Canada it is mostly on road, but Buffalo to Albany to NYC is mostly off road.