Re: Locked out of an abundance of caution
If by modern, you mean nerdy, then yes.
There are quite a lot of museums in the city. The Met is a staple. The Cloisters (I only bring it up because I was there recently) is part of The Met. It's all about European medieval art and architecture. It looks rather out of place given the rest of the city. There's the public library, too, but I think the Morgan Library is less touristy? Though, the Morgan Library books are for looking at, not reading.
As for an active night life, New York is commonly referred to as the city that never sleeps, so I think it has you covered there. Midtown is the heart of the city. Clubs and bars and all those sorts of things. It's hard to narrow down beyond that. There is quite literally something for every taste open practically all the time.