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I agree with the person who said go to Grand Central at rush hour. Get there slightly before five and stand on one of the two staircases at either end so you’ll be out of the way. You can try to get across the floor in the middle of it if you’re brave.

You can combine this with a visit to the Oyster Bar in the same building, lower level. Not everything is expensive. You can just get a few oysters if you like, at the bar or the lunch counter, or whatever else suits you. They are the most reliable seafood place in the city. They constantly test the waters where the seafood comes from and their reputation for total freshness has never been tarnished.

Then Times Square at “crazy hour,” when everyone is rushing to the theaters. Bloomberg ruined it a bit with all the pedestrian spaces but it is hard to ruin.

All three can be done in one trip.

Also, be sure to go someplace very elegant, if only for a drink. One of the great hotels.

If you want to go to a political meeting of some kind, you can probably do that if you get in touch with someone who lives here.

Have a wonderful time. I love New York. Have lived here since I was twenty and never want to leave.

A few final thoughts:
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Skip the Circle Line. It is time-consuming, and parts of it are inevitably very boring. You’re not really seeing New York.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is totally free since it is on public land. I would go, even though it can seem overwhelming. Go to the second floor and see the Rembrandts, and then whatever else takes your fancy, or just have lunch there and then go somewhere else, but do see the Rembrandts.