Daphne´s place is definitely the best decision you can take if you are looking for a place to stay in New York that makes you feel just like home!
The apartment is super beautiful, uniquely decorated and very clean. And...from the kitchen ( or rather from the very New Yorkish fire ladder, one of my personal highlights of the flat) you even have a view of, well, maybe not the skyline of Manhattan but at least of the Empire State Building!
What regards Astoria, I can also highly recommend living in this area: super laid back, safe, very authentic with better cheesecake from the Italian Bakery around the corner than you can find anywhere in Manhattan and quite convenient when it comes to public transportation. During my time in New York I had to commute everyday and it was totally fine, not more than half an hour to Lexington Avenue which is one of the best starting points to discover midtown. And this means something in this city!
Finally and of course most importantly: Daphne is one of the most welcoming hosts I have met so far. I have spent two months at her place for doing an internship and staying at her apartment was definitely one of the things that made my time in New York an experience as amazing as it turned out to be. You can get the best advice for discovering the city from a real native New Yorker and you can have the most intellectual and hilarious conversations with her, being sure to get a new perspective on the most different issues. But of course, if you are not so much into talking, she totally upholds your privacy and you can be sure to have your own space, too. So, in short, I can fully and wholeheartedly recommend this place!!