There was a recent new hire at United with 1750 hours. His background was F18s and I'm sure other things. Based on being P3s and T6s, 2000 may not be competitive enough on its own. You didn't mention any other good stuff like IP, safety, and other things besides flight time which can factor into your competitive level for a major. Also, if the P3 time was as aircraft commander, then you're already almost there.

If you want NYC, Republic is hiring into both the E170 and Q400 classes out of EWR. They have been known to open and close bases but EWR will likely stay for a while. Envoy is a proud company but there's been very little good news over the last 3 years really. I don't think PSA is gonna be able to handle becoming 2.5 times it's size in such a short time so they may not get as many airplanes as announced. Whether they stay at Envoy I don't know. I will agree that not commuting is the biggest factor to how good your time at a regional will be. Even a slightly crappier contract might be better than commuting to a good one.