It will be 3 of us (Wife and 22 year old daughter). Post college grad trip.This area is kind of what she settled on as I can hopefully mix in a day or two of work while they are out doing stuff. Looking for:

NYC hotel rec (never stayed in the city, always on Long Island or in Jersey). We've been to the city before so really looking at a 1.5 to 2 days max. Daughter really wants to see a Broadway show and the 9/11 Memorial...anything else is a bonus.

From there, looking for ideas for a couple days in MA, CT, etc...

If you're not tied to a particular location after NYC, I'd suggest the Hudson River Valley. Lots of great restaurants, small state parks and walking trails, and history. 2.5 hours from NYC. Other option would be Newport RI but July is already pretty booked there. I am not sure CT is worth a visit (I lived there for 6 years) unless you want to do Pizza in New Haven on your way to RI (Pepes). Boston or Maine would be excellent if you want to go further but might consider flying (or Amtrak).

definitely considering Boston, Cape Cod, etc

Also looking into flying in/out of different airports to reduce travel back to NYC area in order to fly home