From his 1300 ft position, there is no way he makes TEB without some really serious turns, which will cost altitude. Maybe he could make LGA IF he has RWY 13, which he did not. They had shut down departures on RWY 4, but I did not hear any request from ATC to stop arrivals, so RWY 31 was still being used. Even if they gave him RWY 13, he still has to make another 90 degree turn, fly over some of the highest terrain in Manhattan, the Tri Borough Bridge, the Northeast Rail Corridor bridge, drop his gear, and hit a 7,000' runway dead on. If he comes up short and lands in the East River, the currents at that point of the river are some of the worst you can encounter. And there are no ferries in the area. His decision was by far the smartest and lowest risk possible. 2nd guessing what he did makes no sense at all, because all of the other choices were much higher risk.