I stayed at Nicole's for two weeks, and it actually felt like home; it was very clean and cozy. And Nicole was such a wonderful host; she was generous, thoughtful and really fun to talk to. She'd always give me lots of advice about where to go and what to eat (and I should've listened to her from the start, because she has a great taste in food). Beatrice, Nicole's dog, was really fun; she became my friend very quickly and just wanted to be near people.
The neighbourhood is perfectly safe and the apartment is within walking distance of practically anything you would need. For transportation, I usually took the C line from the 163rd station which was just a 4-minute walk away. The 1 line was also pretty close; the 157th station would take me about 7 minutes to reach.
If I'm ever going to Newyork again, Nicole's would definitely be my first choice.