On 21 November 1944, New York sailed to the west coast and departed there 12 January 1945. Even with screw damage, she sailed to participate in the Iwo Jima bombardment between 16 to 19 February. She had the distinction of firing the most rounds of all the ships participating and scored a direct 14" shell hit on a Japanese ammunition dump.

While at Manus, her screws were repaired in order to prepare for her next role at Okinawa, the last major amphibious invasion of the war. New York commenced firing on Okinawa on 29 March 1945 and remained in action there for 76 days, but not without incident. On 14 April, she was hit by a kamikaze that destroyed her spotter plane. She left on 11 June for Pearl Harbor to prepare for the invasion of the Japanese mainland but the war ended so she would never see combat again.

After the war, New York transported troops from the Pacific to the mainland. Her next role was as a target ship and in Operation Crossroads, the atomic bomb tests at Bikini Atoll. She survived both 1 and 25 July 1946 atomic tests and so was brought to Kwajalein. On 8 July 1948, she was towed 40 miles out of Pearl Harbor and was used as a target ship for new air and ground weapons. After eight hours of attack she finally sunk. She was awarded three battle stars for her service in World War II.