Allison's apartment was a great place to stay during my NYC visit.
The basement stairs and the entrance hall seemed quite appalling at first, but the flat was actually very nice - beautifully decorated and fully quipped. The bedroom was spacious and had both a bed and a sofa, both of which were rather comfy. Due to the basement location, the apartment gets very little sunlight, but Allison made up for it by having many lamps with adjustable brightness. She also has a nice back yard - a rarity in New York!
The area is quite convenient for getting to lower Manhattan, if you don't mind a not too long a walk or a bus ride to the subway station. The street itself is also very pretty, although some of the surrounding ones felt a bit dodgy.
Allison is very friendly and accommodating, and her cat Chichi is rather cute. Overall, as advertised, it was "a rustic NYC experience" and a great value-for-money - highly recommended.