Macintosh used for a few features pages. We tried out one candidate, but usually candidates try out on the night desk. They try out for five days. There's no formal training for copy editors. New people learn by doing and asking questions, and people on the desk are pretty helpful.
Extra pages are okay.
One advantage of the location is that it's near all the cultural, culinary and entertainment amenities of New York City as well as the beaches on Long Island. And it's even closer if you want to go camping or skiing. On the negative side you have a lot of people living in a small area, and the traffic and drivers are lousy. And the cost of housing is ridiculously high here, in Connecticut, in Manhattan, northern New Jersey and southern New York state.