Location, Location, Location!!
This apartment is on a quiet street, about one minute away from Central Park and 2 blocks from a Subway stop. And--only 10 minutes away from Whole Foods. Great way to experience the beautiful UWS.
Our stay at Amy's apartment was an enjoyable one! The size of the apartment was great: two floors, lots of space for NYC! It accommodated our family of 5 very well. The basement was tiled and redone recently, so a great place for three boys to run and play. I especially loved being on the ground floor--no stair to carry our groceries or luggage up.
Jack, Amy's superintendant, was always very helpful and solved any problem that arose. For example, during our second week, NYC had a heatwave, and the basement (which didn't have A/C) got a bit humid and toasty. Jack installed a portable A/C unit that had the basement cooled down in no time.
Also, if you are planning to have a car during your stay, the alternate side parking is 8:30-10am two days a week, so it doesn't cut into your day very much if you plan to park your car on the street.
A couple of things to consider:
The apartment is older, so even when clean you feel like it could be cleaner. Some of the furniture has seen better days.
The green area in the back is a work in progress. If you have small children, you couldn't leave them outside by themselves. The fence was not complete and there were old pieces of fence and a ladder around. About 1/2 of the new fence was up for our stay, with the other half coming soon. It will be great once finished!
The street is very quiet; you can hear birds in the morning out the nice living room windows. During our month stay, there were renters in the apartment directly above us for only 1 week--which was very nice. That one week we did hear people walking above us, moving chairs, and so on, but not so much that it bothered us.
If you are planning to stay in NYC in the summer, understand that you will have a window unit in the bedroom--which was great--but nothing in the kitchen or living room. It could get a little warm. The fan provided helped circulate the air.
Overall, I would definitely recommend Amy's apartment.