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Are you applying to an MA program with the intention to pursue a PhD in this other institution? If so, why not only mention that you're applying to this program in order to pursue a PhD in the future? Why would they need to know exactly which PhD you are expecting tu pursue afterwards? Most institutions actually want you to pursue the PhD in a different place, so for an MA program, they probably don't expect you to stay with them. I wouldn't mention it at all. 

The 3rd option would be the most formal, and what I would go with. CUNY alone can mean 1 of like 10 colleges. In some spots, you may be able to just say the Graduate Center, but I would use the full name at least for the 1st time.

Some schools might have POIs interviewing independently. Some do no interviews as a rule. From what I know, the following schools have been interviewed candidates somewhat formally in the last few years: Yale, Hopkins, NYU, Stanford, Northwestern. Wouldn't say it's uncommon. But, grain of salt, etc.

As far as I know, interviews are not that usual. However, some POIs like to have a conversation with their top applicants.

Thank you - I appreciate your objective perspective and I really agree with you. It was definitely unreasonable for me to expect this person to write an appropriate letter. 

Given the inappropriateness / awkwardness of the whole situation, may I ask why do you think he will write a good letter for you? 

Well, his response to your request doesn't seem inappropriate to me... he told you he would be happy to write the letter, and expressed a relatively reasonable concern (the time gap) that might or might not be an excuse to hide his being uncomfortable writing the letter for the reasons you mention. In any case, if there is an awkward situation that doesn't make YOU comfortable, and especially if you have other options, I wouldn't waste my time with him. And if you ever felt mistreated by his conduct, I would have serious doubts that his letter would be of any benefit for you. 

Given the inappropriateness / awkwardness of the whole situation, may I ask why do you think he will write a good letter for you? 

You could list it in the education history section and just state how many units (or credit hours) were completed.  So it might look something like this:
University of School
City, State
Major: Related Field
60 units completed

Ditto. Also check if he has a personal website with information for prospective students. One professor I'm applying to work with wrote explicitly on her personal website that she did not respond to preemptive emails from prospectives, and yet another posted on his website that he was looking for a very specific range of research topics. 

I would email him directly to introduce yourself, express your interest in his work, and ask if he is still accepting students. I did this with all on my POIs and learned that one is retiring and one is on sabbatical next year, so it can be very helpful. 

I think this is the most important part of the post. It tells me that the OP is not going to fix the situation by adding another field or tweaking her field. Relationship with your PhD adviser is one of the most important things in graduate school. My advice is to contact your undergraduate adviser, who presumably set you on this research path, and ask about some possible ways forward. She/he would be in a good position to advise. Also if you really loved the promise of some of the MA programs that accepted you previously, maybe contact the professors in those and see if they might still  be interested in working you in the future. Like someone above said, everyone makes mistakes, and you are probably very young and have everything ahead of you! 

Hello! I'm sorry that no one has responded to you. My interests are also in the visual so I might be able to offer some info (hopefully). Chicago also has an interdisciplinary humanities MA program. It's one year and from what I heard, if you apply to a PhD program and don't get in they'll suggest you do that first. I think admission for that is offered in their suggestion, but not sure. 
 
As for PhD, have you considered UC Santa Cruz? They have a visual studies program as well. Most other interdisciplinary programs seem good (Stanford's MTL and Berkeley's Rhetoric), but that might just be my own opinion.
 
That's all I have to offer off the top of my head, but if you want to PM me, we can chat!