I don't know much about SF as I haven't lived there as an adult, but New York is an incredible place to live for lifestyle reasons too.
It has great food, a very high concentration of smart and highly educated people, great museums, great performance arts, etc. It's also an incredibly walkable city, which is rare in the US.
Hands down it would be my choice of city if I was a remote worker.
It's subject to debate which locales would stand to net gain/lose from WFH, but I'd pick NYC as a net loser. You gain some who enjoy the city life and amenities, but you lose more to lower COL locales.
Price will always be a factor weighed alongside amenities, even if one area is objectively nicer from an amenities perspective
Everything else pales compared to NYC.
This is far from an universal view - I live there (well, East Bay) and I think the weather isn't that great: too cold in summer, no nice evenings, never nice to hang out by the water. And I like cold winters as a contrast.
October to December are nicer though.