Rafik's place was everything we could hope for - very clean, beautiful, wonderfully decorated and super equipped and stocked - we just loved it! My son especially enjoyed talking to Alexa who, as it turns out, is quite knowledgeable about all things relating to Beyonce! The apartment is some 10 minutes away from the subway which takes you to Manhattan, but the walk to the subway station down the Ditmars boulevard was very pleasant as it is full of restaurants and groceries working till late. Don't miss the opportunity to have coffee and cakes in Martha's bakery or a pizza in Tufino. I was alone with three children, but the neighbourhood felt super safe. And last but not least, Rafik is a great host who promptly answered my messages and made sure we had everything we needed. We missed his place as soon as we left and the fact that for private reasons we had to spend the last night in a Manhattan hotel made us miss his place even more, as it was way better and nicer and more comfortable than the expensive hotel. I can only highly recommend Rafik's place!