Central Park, NBC studio tour, The View restaurant in Times Square, Soho, Little Italy, Chinatown, South St. Seaport, Bryant Park, Greenwich Village, all museums on 5th Ave, Rockefeller Center, 9/11 memorial, Statue of Liberty, St. Patrick Cathedral, Grand Central Station.
Of course the Empire State Building, take a ferry to the Statue of Liberty however to go inside of the statue you need reservations, visit town square at night however be prepared for crowds, visit one World Trade Center, Central Park, go shopping, Morgan library. There's much more stuff you can do but those are just a few of the main ones!
I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.