My wife are visiting a friend in Boston in early February. I know weather wise, this can be treachorous time to visit Boston, but Delta is footing the bill.

Two part question: I intentionally scheduled a 4 hour layover at Laguardia to spy NYC; is there one thing I should go do/see in a limited time frame in New York? I have 3.5 days in Boston, besides JPress, are there any other must not miss places?

As long as you bundle up you can still have fun in Boston & Cambridge. It's a very walkable city and the T is great. The Andover shop is just around the corner from J.Press so give it a look. There's some great food in the North End if you like sweets and Italian food. Beacon Hill is a beautiful part of the city just off the commons. Definately a great place to get a coffee and stroll.

As for NYC - yikes! I lived just outside of it for about 7 years and go back about once a month. The last thing I did that made me feel like I really took advantage of my down time there was to get a Reuben at Katz's! Maybe a stroll down Madison Avenue would be nice, but everything is pretty spread out from a Trad standpoint and, if I'm not mistaken, Press is still closed.

Boston and Cambridge are a lot of fun. Check out Doyle's, assuming it is still there.

New York is a festering Gehenna, and back and forth from the airport will consume two of you four hours, at least. I would skip it, and rearrange your itinerary.

I think the Red Sox are out of town when you'll be there, or that would be a good time.

I agree with Patrick on the timing. Laguardia is a half hour cab ride to midtown at best when there is no traffic (plus all of the airport hassle). If you actually have 4 hours in the city though then there is a bit you could do.

I tend to avoid places like Doyle's these days, but in my wild youth I whiled away many happy, blurry hours here

http://doylescafeboston.com/

No Red Sox in February, obviously, but if you can find Bruins or Celtics you can get a good look at the fans. It is very educational.

The ICA is always worth a look: http://www.icaboston.org/

And don't forget to ask for directions at the Park Street T station. The reply will come in an accent that sounds like an Italian with a speech impediment reading phonetic Korean. Or something.

The point of the four hours in NYC is to simply see a glimpse, since I've never been. I do hope to explore the city a little more one day.

Since traffic and security can be such an issue, are there any quick trips (if such a thing exists) in Queens or Brooklyn that would be worth the trip and would offer a skyline view?

I dont think you'd be happy with a Queens side trip. You probably could squeeze in a one hour visit in midtown if your flight is on time and its the middle of the day - if it is a view you want you could go up to the top of Rockefeller Center.