Our stay at Ariela's was overall great. The neighborhood is very friendly, and we never had a problem in the area. Ariela and her family were very nice to us, even offering us free ground coffee for the duration of our stay at their flat. The flat itself is nice and cozy, much better on the inside than on the outside. It is clean, there is a nice kitchen and a great garden, which is accessible to the guests. We had breakfast there every morning and I have to say that is great to have an outdoor access in NY. The wifi worked perfectly. The washing machine+dryer are so useful when travelling around a lot!
The flat is close to the subway, so yes, it takes 20-25 minutes to get to Manhattan, but the peaceful nights are well worth the trip. Overall, I recommend this place if you are not fussy about being outside Manhattan.