It sounds like you are trying to convince California and/or New York that you were not a state resident from 9/2021 to 2/2022. State residency is based on DOMICILE, which includes intent and other acts of establishing residency. In addition, you cannot abandon one domicile without establishing a new one - so I hope you took affirmative steps to establish residency in Europe (and getting a New York driver's license may not be enough to show you abandoned California).
It is established that the RSUs are California source income since they are related to the time you worked in California so you will have to pay California taxes on it.
The question is- why did your employer "move" you to the NYC office if you were going to work and live abroad? It would have made more sense to keep you in the California office. Why did your employer withhold New York taxes?
If you contend you were not a New York resident, you do not have to file a New York state tax return as a nonresident if you did not work in the state; or in the alternate, if the convenience rules apply, you would not have to report the RSU income as New York source. (Of course since there was New York withholding, you will have to file a nonresident return to get the withholding back.)
@CoffeeBreak
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