The Hog-nosed snakes do occur in Upstate New York but only toward the very south and are quite rare. I agree that the description is pretty vague but I'd almost say it was a juvenile gartersnake. The adults usually have a yellow stripe down the back but the younger ones often lack that field mark, would be blackish in color with light markings (sort of like a checkerboard pattern), and have a light-colored body.

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