Large parts of the US are desert. In such regions humidity can drop to very low levels. It's these low levels of humidity which can damage the wood in guitars. I don't think New York is such a place, but who knows where the guitar has been.

Signs of de-humidification can be fret ends protuding from the sides of an unbound fretboard and open cracks in the front or back.

Re-humidifying can be as simple as putting a water soaked sponge in the bottom of a large bin liner, tying the top of the bag around the top of the guitar neck, ideally with the bottom of the guitar not touching the sponge. Hand this up somewhere safe for three ot four days.

There are DIY designs for small humidifiers to keep in a guitar case online.