Question on attractions...
 

I will be traveling to NYC from May 27th till the 31st.
The purpose of the trip is to visit a friend that lives on Long Island (where Im staying). However, we are going to go into NYC for 1 or maybe 2 afternoons. I want to have an idea of things I for sure want to see so I dont look like im traveling somewhere without knowing anything :-)

Here are a list of attractions I possibly might want to see, Im not exactly familar how close in proximity these places are to eachother. Im looking to see probably 3 on the list, what does everyone reccomend

Empire States Building
The Bronx Zoo
American Muesum of Natural History
Central Park
Coney Island
Rockefeller Center
Ellis Island/Statue of Liberty

WHat do you guys think? any other suggestions?

The 1st question should be what are YOU interested in seeing? You have on your list all different type of attractions, in differnt parts of NYC. Have you been here before? That makes a BIG differnce on what to recommend. What's more, some of the stuff is weather related, and enjoying them will depend on whether you have nice weather.
So it would be hard to recommend one over the other unless you let us know if you've been here before, and have seen the 'must sees'

my picks are Natural History Museum
Ellis Island/ statue of liberty
rockefeller center /5th avenue stores
Metropolitan Museum of Art

also, you should go see a broadway show

Anthony...
In reply,
This is my first trip to NYC. LOL I know I have to sound crazy only going into NYC for one or 2 afternoons but thats all we have planned for my trip out this time.
As far as what I want to see, all the things on the list are things I actually would like to see, its has a mix of different things, Im a history teacher so we have some Historic stuff on there, some fun stuff, and some culture things.
So to make a long story short, this is my first trip to NYC

If this is your 1st trip, and you only have 1 or 2 afternoons, then I would stick to stuff in Manhattan. You don't say whether you are driving in or taking the LIRR, but if you are taking the train, you can start off an afternoon by visiting the Empire state building, then taking a leisurely strool up 5th ave, and checkout Rockefeller Center, St Patricks Church, Saks 5th Ave, and the Plaza Hotel. You can then continue uptown on Madison Ave, and checkout the fancy shops, then head over to the Metropolitan Museum and spend a couple of hours there. That itineary would take up a whole afternoon. Dinner at a nice restaurant would cap off a great day, if you plan to stay into the evening.
If a 2nd afternoon, I would combine a visit to Central Park & the Museum of Natural History into one great trip. There are many places to stroll in the park, and there is a small, but nicely designed zoo in the park, that takes about an hour or so to visit. Within the natural history museum, there are great exhibits such as the dinosaurs and when you are here, they will have just reopened the marine life exhibit that includes the famous giant blue whale. You must also get tkts for the 3D planetarium show there, so all told, you would need to alocate about 3 hrs there. Again, if you plan to stay in town for dinner, there are many nice restaurants on the upper west side, where the museum is( I live across the st from the museum)

A walk around Broadway to see famous stores like Zabars and have dinner in restaurants like Ouest or Ruby Foos would again cap off a great afternoon in Manhattan.