There is significantly more air between New York and Boston than there is between New York and the top of the atmosphere. Not to mention that very bright bodies can shine through the thickness of the atmosphere like headlights in fog.
So, how much air is between me and the moon. And, New York is pretty bright.
Keep in mind you can't see the moon in RET when the earth has cast a shadow on the moon (although this is not the mechanism to describe this phenomena accurately). How bright it is has a lot to do with it.
Actually, in RET even when the moon is in th4e shadow of the Earth you can still see it because there is scattering of light due to the atmosphere, it makes it a kind of reddish colour.
What I think you might be getting confused with is when in RET the sun is behind the Moon and we have what is called a "New Moon". In this case, it is not the shadow of the Earth that is preventing us from seeing the surface of the Moon, but the shadow of the
Moon itself. We are in fact seeing the
Night Side of the Moon.
However, even then we can still see it a bit because there is light reflecting off the surface of the Earth and this has enough brightness to very faintly illuminate the surface of the Moon. To see this
Earth Shine you need a clear night and be away from city lights. A good telescope or set of binoculars is also a good help.