The meta answer is the five-letter word that should go in the missing top row of the grid. Instructions: this grid is actually 5x6, but the top row has been chopped off! The Down entries thus make no sense, because they are all missing their first letter. Your job is to find the Across entry that should go in the missing top row and that completes all the Down entries.
___-Rome Metropolitan Statistical Area (Herkimer County + Oneida County, not to be confused with the city of Oneida, which is in Madison County? New York, come on now)
7A
Your friend, in exchange for some free pizza, maybe (unless you're older than like 25 in which case please don't be asking people to do this -- back pain is real)