Hi Anthony, welcome to the area. There are some great folks, and lots of good advice over in the Dive NY forum, if you haven't joined yet. Diving up here tends to have some differences from Florida... some of that is about the conditions (low viz, exposure protection), and some of it is just about the mechanics of what to expect from boats and operators.
If you haven't been diving in cool water before, I would suggest heading out to Dutch Springs in PA to test out the gear, and make sure everything is squared away. You might get 40' if viz and calm seas on your first boat trip, but then again, you might not. And if you don't, you won't want to be testing your weighting in the new wetsuit for the first time.
There are quite a few good instructors up here that can help you with a formal class, if you like, and I would be happy to give you a few names.
I'll be heading back down to Dutch around memorial day, and if you're interested in going, just shoot me a PM. They'll be having some drysuit demos as well, so if you're interested in that, you can take part there as well.
-Charles
