Just to add to what I said yesterday - I thought the Ellis Island Museum was very interesting the first time I was there (shortly after it first opened in 1990). Am returning to explore it in more depth. There's a new "hard hat tour" of the Museum which looks pretty interesting to me (takes you through areas that are closed to the public). Unfortunately - my husband has some issues walking - so it's not our cup of tea. But it might be yours.
When it comes to the Statue of Liberty - don't know what your plans might be. If you want to go to the top - you have to buy tickets/make reservations well in advance. When I bought our Ellis Island tickets a couple of weeks ago - the recording said the "Crown" was sold out until November.
I have a few more suggestions about your plans. First - it seems to me you're spending too much time looking at the outside of buildings. I would see at least one or two museums. There are dozens in New York. Some are huge - some are small. Many are art museums - but others aren't. Do you have any particular museum interests? If not - I would suggest going to one or two of the large iconic museums. Like the Met - the Museum of Modern Art - the Museum of Natural History.
If you're interested in seeing a show - take a look at the prices. They will often make what you think are expensive restaurants look relatively cheap. I see that you live in Sacramento. Don't know what your show scene is like there. I live in a relatively small metro area - JAX - and we get all the "famous" shows down here eventually. And the tickets are a fraction of NY prices. So we generally don't go to shows in New York. We sometimes make an exception for a play we know will never make it down to our neck of the woods.
Macy's for shopping is just kind of "blah". You have Macy's in Sacramento. Pick something more exotic/interesting. If only for "window shopping". If your wife likes chocolate - I recommend this place (the store at Madison & 78th Street):
Chocolate boutique on Madison Avenue, New York - La Maison du Chocolat
Do spend some time reading about/making reservations at good restaurants. New York is a great eating town. High end - low end - everything in between. All (ethnic) flavors. It's worth your while to do some homework to find good places (and avoid often over-priced "tourist traps").
Overall - like most really big cities - there's so much to do in New York that you couldn't do it in 3 months - much less 3 days. So we always try to do a few things well - to explore in a little depth - rather than chasing our tails all over the place just to check things off a list. Robyn