Things to do on an overnight layover in NYC?

If you are arriving a few hours earlier, then i think that does change things significantly.  If you land a 7 PM, you could easily be in Manhattan by 8:30.  This would give you the flexibility to get something to eat at a 'good' restaurant and still give you time to grab a drink after.   Or it will give you some time to stroll around and still grab a bite to each.  You might also want to check out some local live music.   I'd probably still head to Midtown Manhattan/Times Square area and make that your anchor point. Look online for restaurants and reviews, there are obviously a ton of them in the area.   For drinks/bars later you can head down toward the village area.

Hi Crystal, yikes that is gonna be a bit difficult, bc getting to NYC frm JFK at that hr isn't easy. Most likely you'll get into NYC at around 11:30pm & prob should leave back to JFK at about 5am to make yr 8am flight. Not much time but you can prob hit some bars.

agree with Jami's suggestions.  10 hours with travel time to and from airport, coupled with the fact that it is the middle of the night, limits what you can do.   Def Times Square in midtown.  I'd probably do it on the way back though, just in case something goes awry; you don't want to miss your flight to South Africa.

Even in the city that never sleeps some things will close down so you'll be slightly limited in what you can do between 10pm and 8am. But of course you must hit up Times Square!!!! Depending on the day and if you can get into Manhattan quick enough you also might be able to do Empire State Bldg as they are open until 2am, get tickets in advance though!!!!!

Also if you like to dance there are tons of great clubs/venues: Pacha NYC plays a lot of house and trance, Webster Hall will provide lots of different options, check their calendar. 

Here's a great article from Time Out giving some awesome info on late night eats: http://www.timeout.com/newyork/restaurants/24-hour-restaurants-in-nyc

Enjoy!!