contribution over-the-limit to NYS 529 account

The limit is for the amount that NYS allows you to deduct, it's reasonable, but given the annual increases in college costs, may not be enough to fully fund the 4 years of college. If the deduction was important to you, contact the account custodian and ask if there's any provision allowing you to back out the excess or change its date to reflect a 2012 deposit. It's possible, the first option comes with penalty, and second may simply not be allowed.

In Massachusetts we get no such deduction, so I've not dug into the details for this type of issue.