Liz

First of all have you bought a guide book to New York, when I went almost two years ago I bought the AA Essential Guide to New York it's not very big, will easily fit in a handbag and contains a lot of info. about things to see and getting around the city. I also bought the New York popout map that I ordered from Amazon which had just about everywhere in Manhattan marked on it.
You say you have bought a ticket for the Top of The Rock, is it an open ticket or do you have to go at a certain time? I went up late afternoon shortly before it got dark and it was lovely seeing all the lights go on all over the city. Very cold though, I was there late March.
Staying in the Times Square area is very handy for eating out, loads of restaurants all over the place I can't remember the names though. The shops are all open in the evenings. Do try one of the Delis for an authentic hot sandwich.
You asked where Bloomingdales, Macy's and Tiffany's are, I would say Tiffany's is probably the nearest it's on 5th Avenue. You can walk to all of them, Macy's is south on 6th Avenue not far from the Empire State Building and Bloomingdales is a fair distance away between 3rd Avenue and Lexington. I walked to all of them but depending on the weather and how tired you are you may want to take the subway or a taxi. Don't forget to take you passport with you to Macy's and Bloomingdales as you can get a visitors discount card from their information offices. Brand name cosmetics are usually a lot cheaper than the UK in all the departmental stores. If you are looking for real designer goods at discount prices you may be interested in going out to Woodbury Common Premium Outlet Center, it's about an hour out of NYC and you can get a bus from the Port Authority Bus Station, you can either buy the ticket yourself or ask your hotel reception to arrange it. For cheap rock bottom prices try the shops on Canal Street. I didn't go on the Sex and the City Tour as I never watched the programme but I've heard it's pretty good.
An easy way of getting around the city is to get a two day hopon hopoff bus pass, I didn't buy one but many people find it very useful on their first visit to the city.
Central Park Zoo costs around $10 per person. The carriage ride is a bit pricy, the standard ride is only about 17mins long and costs about $34 for the whole carriage. You can go for longer but it costs a lot more.
The ferry that goes past The Statue of Liberty is the Staten Island Ferry it's free, it takes (I think) about half an hour each way and you catch it from Battery Park.The views of Manhattan as you sail back are fabulous. The ferry that goes to the Statue goes from pretty much the same area. The crown of the statue is now open again but I believe you have to book to go up as there is a lot of demand. I have no idea how much it costs
I enjoyed a walk over The Brooklyn Bridge, I caught the subway to Brooklyn and walked back.