It's a great experience to stay at Jervia's place. He's very communicative and tells you a lot about places you can visit or things you can do. He also know's a lot about politics and sports and it's nice to listen to him.
I slept on a pull-out sofa and was provided with everything I needed. The only thing you have to keep in mind is privacy. The sofa is located in the center of the apartment and there are often some other people sleeping in another room, so you are basically exposed. You also have to prepare the sofa everydad (but that's done within a minute). Also you don't have much space for your luggage, so I basically lived out of my suitcase (altough I was provided a box to put my shirts into).
For me it was ok, but if you don't like that, I just tell you.
I liked the area and didn't feel unsafe. A supermarket is located around the corner, subway is less than 5 minutes away and it takes you about 30 minutes to get to midtown manhattan (altough I'm not absolutely sure about that, I never checked my watch)