My wife and I are thinking of going to New York for the New Year celebrations and would like to know of some decent hotels which are not horrendously expensive.

We have been looking at the World Trade Centre Marriot which is offering some good deals over the New Year period but it's approx. 3 miles from Times Square. Not that the distance is a problem but it may be better if we were staying somewhere nearer to Times Square ???

Any guidance about the Marriot or a good value hotel would be great.

If you're planning on spending New Year's Eve outdoors (i.e. waiting in Times Square with the crowds) I don't think that the '3 mile" distance is relevant at all. You're talking about a 15 minute subway ride. Of course if you were hoping to see something from the hotel itself, or be able to go back and forth while one of you holds a place in the crowd, that's another story.
Hotels in Times Square area for New Years Eve are likely to be
1)VERY expensive 2) already booked

Additionally the sidewalks outside the hotels in times square are likely to be so crowded as to be impassable. also, taxis are practically impossible to get on new years, esp. in the times sq. area, and it is often bitter cold. unless you are willing to take the subway with the throngs, the distance to your hotel is something worth considering.

Les unless you are very young that is the worst time to be in the city. We all leave. It is so gross a lot of drunk teenagers walking around in a loud fashion. I don't know a single New Yorker that attends the time square event, never have and I have lived here since college, 20 years.

Distance in NY is a relative term and not really thought of in terms of miles.
Either you're downtown (i.e the Marriott, SoHo, Tribeca, the Village) or in Midtown (Times Sq., Rockefeller Center, Broadway.)
If you do go see the ball drop, you'll need to be out there waiting at least 4 to 6 hours beforehand if you want to be anywhere near 43rd St.

I've stayed at expensive hotels for business. But I took my kids last October, and I had some Marriott points. We stayed at the Marriott Courtyard in mid-town. It was clean, not fancy, but it's a great location.