I got 2376 (99th percentile) with 800 in Verbal. I didn’t study for Verbal at all, I just, um, read lots of big books. So no good tips from me.
But scores aren’t that important applying to these schools. Have strong ECs and strong interviews and everything will likely go well. Also you’re applying to 10th so you’re not applying at the traditional time and you’ll be viewed as an exception (especially at NYC day schools, which are much smaller than the boarding ones), so there’s not as much risk of being eliminated because of substandard SSAT scores if the other parts of your application are strong.
Good luck!