It's very simple, Emmis transmitting from West Orange, apparently, doesn't cause any short-spacing interference problems with any other licensed stations.
On the other hand, moving WFME from West Orange to NYC does cause short spacing and interference problems for, at least, two other legally licensed stations.
Interference is legal damage which reduces the value of those other stations. There are rules to prevent that from happening and the FCC has to enforce them. WFME has been in that box since the 1960s, at least. It also didn't want to spend $200-k a year in rent at the top of the ESB, and it didn't care about being perfectly in, or out, the NYC Arbitron market. It was just as happy to have listeners in Western Jersey and Ocean, as to have a few more of them on Long Island.
Don't forget WFME is a legal religious non-profit and just like a church it doesn't even have to pay real estate taxes. It was operating relatively dirt cheap from West Orange, with little to be gained from moving to NYC, and no expectation that it would ever sell anyway. But when you predict the end of the world and it doesn't happen, you may be forced to change your plans.