Filing Taxes in two states on two different VISA status respectively?

I worked in Boston, Massachusetts for first half of year 2008 as H1B VISA employee. For the rest of year 2008, I was a full time student on F1 VISA in Syracuse, New York.

Thus I have two W2 forms - one from my previous employer, and one from Syracuse University (student employee).

a) All the time I was in MA, I was on H1-B (started in November 2006)

b) All the time I was in NY, I was on F1 (started in August 2008)

For Federal Tax Purpose, I am a "RESIDENT ALIEN" and thus only need to file FORM 1040EZ (single). I do NOT have to file FORM 8843 because I pass the substantial presence test for Federal purpose.

For MA State Tax Purpose, I am a "PART YEAR RESIDENT ALIEN" because I lived in MA until August 2008 before I moved out. I file "Form 1-NR/PY Mass. Nonresident/Part-Year Resident Tax Return"

Now, my question is, for NY State Tax Purpose, should I file as "PART YEAR RESIDENT ALIEN" or "NONRESIDENT ALIEN"? The instructions say that in nearly all cases, your Federal status is going to be your State status. But I don't qualify for NY State residency test (presence test). How do I go about this?

Also, how do we find out what amount from the total taxable interest I earned on my savings account (1099-INT) while I was in NYS? Very strange.

Thanks!