Unless required by work, I do NOT travel to New York City. Nothing there I want to see and WAY to many people.
If you can afford private transportation and a good hotel in a good area, it’s awesome for a long weekend. The energy, the food, the best that the world has to offer, right there, mostly within walking distance. Expensive though. I’d hate to try to do it on a shoestring. Better have friends there, imho.