The Capital District of NY (Albany and surrounds) is not coastal, but is certainly NE USA.

Of course "folk music scene" means a lot of different things to different people. We have a few things...

In the immediate area there is Old Songs, with an annual folk festival (featuring much more traditional music than most), plus a concert series through the year as well as special weekends and instrument instruction classes (www.oldsongs.org). The Pickn' 'n' Singin' Gatherin' (I may not have the apostrophes right) has been going for many years, holds a monthly meeting plus a small but remarkably friendly Memorial Day weekend festival. Its members also run a number of a cappella sings, usually in local public houses. The Eighth Step Coffeehouse runs a concert series, now in Schenectady, featuring more songwriters. Tri-City Trad organizes a number of participatory jams around the area, Irish music sessions, old-timey sessions, pub sings and so forth, and hosts an annual gathering. A stone's throw away in Saratoga Springs is Caffe Lena, one of (if not the) oldest continually running folk coffee houses in the country. And there's more within striking distance.

Plus some good universities.